I hate to generalise but most of the time when the going gets tough on a project, either management or in severe cases the project manager starts to micromanage the team in order to “track” delivery better. Most of the time the cause of this is not because it is a proven method that we know works in order to track and monitor progress, but rather the last desperate attempt to gain control or the illusion of control of the deliverables or project.
Unfortunately the reverse is true, you cannot expect to see results if you micromanage, it goes against everything that is logical and yet we all fall into this trap when there is a perceived loss of control or when the deadlines are tight and the pressure is on.
And yet, when you look up you find yourself micromanaging for sometimes very good reasons, according to you. Here is the thing however, Micromanagement destroys morale and breaks teams apart, people feel like you don’t trust them to do their job and eventually it all comes to a head and boom your project fails anyway!
Over and above the additional pressure this puts on delivery teams, you also run the risk of losing the very people who would have been able to assist you to drive the project over the line in the first place, because they will leave the company and move on eventually because of the toxic environment they are forced to work in.
There are various methods out there available to you that you can employ to successfully manage projects and deliverables, even those that are running late, and sometimes everybody just needs to pause for a second and as a team establish the best way forward before things get out of hand and destructive behaviour like micromanagement steps in.
So, in short, no, micromanaging does not, and has never worked. Wherever you think you saw a successful implementation of this type of management think again, you did not. Next time the pressure is on and the deadline looms, rather break down your remaining work into smaller pieces in order to track your team’s delivery daily and protect your team.
Believe in your team. Trust your own, and their abilities and dedication, and rather don’t opt for Micromanagement.
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