Frequent “check-ins” on your sales team members, being constantly overwhelmed with the number of tasks on your to-do list (because “if you want something done right, you must do it yourself,”) and repeatedly “overriding” changes made by your employees.
Most of us can probably recognize these as characteristics of micromanagement. Whether you’ve been micromanaged by a supervisor in the past or are the one doing the micromanaging, we’re all familiar with the damage that can result from micromanagement tendencies such as these.
How to Avoid Micromanaging
This article about micromanagement by Harvard Business Review details three things leaders can do to ditch their micromanaging tendencies:
- Stop checking in all the time. If you find yourself constantly asking your sales team members about all the details of the account they’re working, then you’re probably micromanaging them. Your team members will likely perceive this as “hovering,” and it could damage the relationship you have with them.
- Trust your team’s experts. You hired your team members because of their expertise, so let them do what you hired them to do! Just because you are the manager doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. “As the boss, it’s your job to recognize the best ideas, not necessarily to have them yourself.”
- Delegate more than you may be comfortable with. Sometimes managers think it’s best for a new team member to learn by watching. But this isn’t necessarily true! If you keep your new sales team members away from the deal-making table for a while because you fear they aren’t quite ready to “spread their wings” on a sales call, you might be sending them a message that says you don’t trust them to do a good job at what they were hired to do. Instead, try letting them make calls right away. You’ll be showing them that you trust them, and you can always use the recording as a coachable moment after the fact‚ which is a trust-building exercise in itself.
If you think your sales team could be suffering from micromanagement, try incorporating some of these three tips into your daily routine. Your team dynamic, and ultimately, your sales success, depends on it!
Read the full article here: 3 Ways to Kick Your Micromanaging Habit for Good
