People Don’t Quit jobs; They Quit Their Bosses
Brigette Hyacinth
Author: The Future of Leadership: Rise of Automation, Robotics and Artificial
The worst place an employee can be, is stuck in an organization with a micro-manager who doesn’t care about their development and there are no opportunities for growth and advancement. I had a manager who would hover over my shoulder. I could not even send an external email without her scrutinizing it first. It was very demotivating. I liked my job and the people I worked with but I could no longer work under such a boss.
Micromanagement is a complete waste of everybody’s time. It sucks the life out of employees, fosters anxiety and creates a high stress work environment.
Micromanagement has the same toxic attributes as helicopter surveillance in psychology, which entails unrelenting stalking of a person which robs one of their freedom, autonomy and individuality The anxiety of such an employee subjected to micromanagement will increase while confidence may take a tumble. Most of the time a person says, “I hate my JOB!” it has something to do with their direct supervisor.
We hire individuals because we believe they are capable of doing the job. Then trust them to get the job done. Limiting the potential of a great employee by being inflexible, is limiting the potential of your organization. If things are not going the way management wants – there is always a better way than micromanaging people. Train, mentor and coach employees and give them clear objectives. Then get out of their way. A manager’s job is to provide guidance and support. It’s not monitoring an employee’s every movement. The best ideas and advancements come as a result of empowering your team.
A lack of trust breeds disloyalty and resentment. Toxic work environments foster mediocrity. A culture of favoritism, fault-finding, blaming and not giving enough credit to employees is a sure formula for low engagement and high turnover. It’s hard to feel passion for a job after you witness a lapse of integrity in your manager.
” As we look into the future, Leaders will be those that empower others.” – Bill Gates
Some managers get so caught up in the bottom line and increasing the revenue stream that they forget to treat people with dignity and respect. Very few bosses show empathy towards their team members and this helps improve overall team performance.
Even with so much research pointing to the ineffectiveness of micromanagement, why is this style still so common in many organizations? Sadly many companies prefer such types of managers because they seem to be in control of everything. They may produce short term results but in the long term they leave a trail of destruction in their path.
Source: Linkedin
