Dean knows what he wants his team to do. He knows every aspect of what each person should be accomplishing and exactly how he wants them to accomplish it. His methodology leaves no margin for error.
Dean is a micromanager. He plots every little thing for his team and doesn't leave anything to chance. Dean sees himself as an incredibly successful businessman who is accelerating forward.
His team, on the other hand, sees him as stifling. They really don't feel like they themselves are important for the job. With the stringent rules and regulations put on them, they don't feel like they personally are contributing anything to the success of the company. Instead, they feel like they are interchangeable and that anyone could do their job because there's very little room to put their personal stamp on anything.
Dean's problems are twofold: First, he has an overinflated ego, thinking he's the only one who can make his company successful. Second, he's terrified that someone will come up with a big idea that isn't his and suddenly overshadow his self-perceived greatness. In his mind, the best way to head off potential problems is to run everything.
Maybe you're in this situation right now. Perhaps you don't feel like you really make any difference in your company and that anyone could do what you're doing. That kind of thinking makes it very hard to have any genuine vested interest in your company's success and no fundamental belief in your own. You see yourself as just a small Lego piece in your company's giant structure.
Creativity dies in a micromanagement situation. When no one is allowed to contribute anything, there is no freedom to try things. New ideas are few and far between in that type of situation because everything usually comes from one source and is passed down to lower levels.
If you truly want to get the best out of your people, remember these three things:
You must give them room to grow. They must feel like they have been given the opportunity to contribute something. They have to feel like they matter, and while they may be a part of a team, they are still individually important. Give them a chance to spread their wings and fly. This brings us to the second point...
You must give them room to make mistakes. Not every idea is perfect in its first incarnation. Often, the best ideas come after several efforts to polish them and after they've passed through many hands. But people must feel like they can make a few mistakes along the way, or they'll never try anything.
You must give them a chance to make a difference. When a person contributes some idea or part of a company's process, they feel like they themselves are a part of the process. They have bought into the company's success and will work harder to see it succeed than they would if it was just something passed down from someone else. Everyone wants to feel like they make a difference somewhere in their life. Everyone wants to feel like they are doing something to make their little slice of the world a better place. If you, as a leader, can give your team that feeling that they matter, there is no stopping their momentum.
If you are working in a micromanagement situation right now and the frustration is setting in, don't give up! When one area of your life won't allow you to contribute, I guarantee you can find another that does. Maybe your job won't allow freedom to create, but you can still do that outside of work.
Find a hobby or another outlet that will allow you to express your creative side. Write a book! Learn a musical instrument! Try creating a game plan for your own business, including a mission statement!
Just because you don't have an outlet in one area doesn't mean you have nothing to contribute. You are valuable and capable of great things! You just need to find the outlet to express it.
Allow your team to flourish and grow in who they are, not who you are. Have faith in them and show them you do! When they truly believe that, success is in motion!
P.S. You can read more leadership tips like this in my book Metamorphosis: Transform Your Leadership!
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