People don’t leave bad companies. They leave bad bosses. They don’t leave flawed organizational structures and abandon lousy products and technology. They leave flawed leadership.
No matter how brilliant a company’s products and/or services may be, if management is dysfunctional, that company will inevitabley have problems. It may not be right away – or as they scale and grow – but trust me it is a house of cards – and nearly a guarantee that it will happen. This concept may sound obvious – but it continues to happen.
There is so much emphasis at the executive level on IQ in organizations, and not enough on leadership, and general behavior. The problem? A complete lack of emotional intelligence, insecurity, general manners, inexperience, sometimes Narcissism or even Pathological thinking – and sheer incompetence on the most basic level.
” Micromanaging is a method in which an individual closely observes or controls the work of an employee” . In comparison to simply giving general direction, the micromanager monitors and evaluates every stage in a process, from beginning to end. This behavior negatively affects efficiency, creativity, trust, communication, problem-solving, confidence, and the individual’s and the company’s ability to reach its goals.
The typical micromanager spends their time directing employees rather than empowering people to be self actualized and take ownership of what they are doing. Our experience is that they are often very insecure in their own right and they spend more time with the details of business operations instead of planning the company’s short-term and long-term growth strategies. There is a huge difference between leadership and simply using one’s title, position and given authority, to exercise political and/or bureaucratic power. We have seen this play out – its not pretty. The effects of micromanagement can be disastrous and destroy a company’s culture early. People soon realize that they are not being listened to, so they will undoubtedly shut down, stop making suggestions or asking questions. Finally – people will become disenchanted and will eventually ask for the check – and take their skills elsewhere – maybe a competitor.
Much of the time, these wanna be leaders believe that they are the only ones who understand the business and are the sole reason for the company’s success. They will often surround themselves with people who don’t question their authority, or are the classic ” yes man ” and fail to challenge or criticize their actions, OR are so afraid and have been beaten down so far – that they actually are questioning their own skills and abilities.
It is for all these reasons that these types of managers will never be truly successful LEADERS – of course, exceptions are noted, we often hear of executives who behave this way – Steve Jobs is the most well known – but for the most part, they just do not possess the skills or characteristics required to deal with people in a productive and meaningful way.
The underlying issue of micromanagers is that their behavior is based on fear, not reason or evidence. First and foremost, their fear drives their need to control the details and processes, and their need for constant recognition further feeds this monster. It’s not uncommon that most people who work with micromanagers have adapted their own behavior to try and prevent confrontation, or are so afraid and have been beaten down so far – that they actually are questioning their own skills and abilities – this only makes the problem worse.
A classic behavior is the absolute failure to prioritize, making managerial and operational rhythms suffer or even no existent. “Post-mortem” meetings become the norm, public floggings rather than after-action reviews. Blame is thrown in every direction except the CEOs and the general energy and attitudes diminish rapidly – and turnover gets worse.
CEOs set the tone of an organization. When behavior is erratic, chaotic, and without rational logic – and they manage without a solid foundation or strategy, the whole operation turns into fire drills, with everyone running around like the poor beheaded chicken.
Sadly – the only thing this creates is a sustained pattern of hystrionics , frustration, fear, and lack of any true direction.
Corporate Dyak 