Management involves maintaining a difficult balance. You want to empower your employees to get the most out of them. At the same time, your job is to direct action and to keep them on task. Without the right knack, these opposing forces can tear a team apart.
Finding just the right mix of involvement, trust, and oversight can prove difficult. This dynamic makes it easy to overlook common management mistakes. Often, when you solve one problem, you can cause another to take root.
This management split can be seen in the statistics. For instance, one set of data showed that 33% of projects fail because of a lack of senior-management involvement. That suggests more oversight is needed in a large number of situations.
But before you put in place an aggressive regime of supervision, think about the consequences. Swing too far the other way, and you can easily slide into damaging micromanagement. This can lead to disengagement and low retention levels – potentially massive drains on your operational efficiency. One estimate suggests that these consequences could lead to double-digit reductions in both productivity and profitability.
Finding the right management balance might represent a major strategic goal. But the best way to achieve it is on a small scale. Watch out for common errors that can tip the equilibrium. With that in mind, here are some of the common management mistakes you might be overlooking:
Too Many Status Updates
It’s important to keep track of how your employees are doing. However, too many check-ins and you start to cut into productivity. Your staff starts spending more time on status-update emails than they do on their actual work. Maintain as much oversight as necessary to keep people on track, but don’t go overboard. Give your workers the leeway they need to truly succeed.
Trying to Make Friends
Having a good relationship with your staff members can lead to improved teamwork and boosted productivity. But there’s a difference between a good working relationship and a true friendship. You can like and respect your employees…but don’t expect to become friends with them. You need to maintain a professional distance to evaluate performance accurately and to makes tough decisions when they become necessary.
Lack of Clear Objectives
Imagine a car trip. Without a destination in mind, it’s easy to drive around in circles. Similarly, in business, without a defined operational objective, it’s easy to waste time and resources. Avoid this trap by determining transparent goals. This gives everyone something to strive for and provides a clear definition of success.
Caring More About Process Than Results
Micromanagement results from an overconcern of process. You want to make sure your workers are doing things the right way (which, in your mind, means they are doing it your way). In some cases, this might be justified. But you need to be sure you’re right…otherwise, you’re just cutting off innovation and closing yourself off to new ideas.
Keep your eye on the prize. Make achieving the optimal results your primary goal. Then, include your employees in the process of discovering the best way to reach those lofty objectives.
Management becomes easier when you have the right employees in place.
A partnership with a top-tier staffing agency, like Recruiting In Motion, maximizes your ability to find the optimal talent. Contact Recruiting In Motion today to find the employees you need to grow your business.
