Every leader approaches management in different ways. We all have our ways of doing things, all of which can reap positive results. As such, I’m not here to tell that there’s a one size fits all approach to management. That just isn’t true. You need to understand and determine what works best for you and your team.
While I can’t tell you what will work, I can say doesn’t work. Pushy and ever-present leaders who try to micromanage their teams often fall short. They end up with unhappy employees, and dwindling staff numbers. The worst offenders even find they’re unable to replace members of staff when they do leave.
With that in mind, whatever your management style is, it may be worth applying it from the backseat. That’s not to say you should hide away in a back room somewhere. Instead, you should accept your staff knows what they’re doing. As long as you keep your door open and maintain an ever-present presence, a backseat approach could see you enjoying the following benefits.
Increased productivity
Managers who always make themselves known often waste employee time. They take their teams out for meetings or call members of staff into their offices just because. It’s like they are having a meeting just to meet, wasting valuable time in the day. That’s why increased productivity is the first benefit of backseat managing.
When you aren’t consistently interrupting your team for progress reports, they’ll be free to get the work done – on time. This doesn’t mean you don’t stop staying on top of what they’re doing. By turning to companies like SimplyCloud, you could instantly purchase cloud solutions which would keep you up to date with tasks across the office – all without needing to pull them away from the great work they are doing. Just the knowledge that you aren’t going to come up to their desks at any time could help your team find their work grove each day.
Giving staff a chance to shine
If you micromanage your team, you can steal their chance to shine. You won’t give them an opportunity to show their talents because you’ll always be steering them in the direction you want them to go in. A great business leader should know when to step back and let certain employees shine through. Your team will feel more comfortable coming up with new ideas and innovative solutions to existing problems. Over time, you could even start to observe natural leaders developing in ways which they never could when you were always stealing the limelight.
Less stress for everyone
Having an overactive manager can also stress employees out to no end. If they’re never sure when you’re going to “stop by”, they’ll stay in a pretty tense, stressed state. That’s a nightmare breeding ground for workplace anxiety that will never serve you well. And lots forget the stress you experience as a result of the need to always be in the office micromanaging the team. You truly can reduce office anxiety by giving them the freedom to do their jobs.
In business, it’s often good to take a back seat and let your staff steer the ship. However, you still need to be there to provide guidance and direction as needed. By allowing them to step up and truly step into their roles, they will take ownership of their responsibilities. In the end, you will have a stronger team and productivity will increase significantly. Here’s to your success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Executive and Leadership Coach. She is the President of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where she can help you up-level your skills, so you can up-level your income, career, business or life. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides coaching, organizational training, personality assessments, and a signature program, the Infinity Coaching Inner Circle. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment. You can find out more he about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
