November 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 41

MANAGING MANAGEMENT

Micromanagement (Part One)
What it is, what it isn't and what to do about it
By Lauren Yost

M

icromanagement is the latest dirty word of the workplace and the
subject of many management articles. Not a new phenomenon, it
was referenced by Theodore Roosevelt when he said, " The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants
done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it. "
The elevated attention and sensitivity to micromanagement, however, has infused the term with weapon-like power when wielded by an
underperforming employee, hurled at
a supervisor daring to hold them accountable to quality or timely work.
" I take issue with the way in which
micromanagement has become synonymous with directive management, " says Paul Gillard, Ph.D.,
executive business consultant and
founder of Transformation Associates Inc. " While micromanagement
is almost always wrong, directive

management is appropriate in specific situations. "
What It Is
Leadership consultant Martin Webster identifies micromanagers by
their over-involvement in the work
they've assigned to others, getting
involved in that work without consulting them and " monitoring what's
least important and expecting regular
reports on miscellany. " Gillard adds
that the micromanager " tells direct
reports what to do, how to do it and
when to do it, giving no latitude to

the employee. " Delegation (if used
at all) is dysfunctional at best. Only
task-level " parts " of an initiative are
delegated rather than the whole project, leaving the employee disengaged
from the meaning or big picture.
Obviously, the effects of this approach to management can have
widespread negative effects. It stunts
the employee's growth, leaving tomorrow's managers completely unprepared to lead, but it also stunts the
manager's growth. Mired in the process and details of work when they
should only be concerning themselves with the results, they are never
able to step far enough away to develop their strategy skills and work from
the big-picture prospective.
It also creates unbearable workloads for both the employee and

W W W. N R PA . O R G | N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 |

Parks & Recreation

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November 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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November 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 1
November 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 2
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