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Managers Need to Formulate a Strategy

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Chess SuccessBusy managers are like busy mothers.

They get it from the top (spouses, in-laws, and teachers) and they get it from the bottom (kids).

Just like time-strapped mothers, busy managers are ground zero for everybody’s problems, including supervisors, owners, employees and even customers.

Think about it. No irate customer ever says to a surly employee, “I want to speak to your colleague!”

Moms Have All the Answers

Well, moms may not have all the answers, but they have all the answers to a busy manager’s problems.

If busy managers want to stay focused and in control amid all their responsibilities, taking cues from busy moms is a good place to start.

Let Them Eat Cake

When the kids are inconsolable after a loss of a big game, moms know just what to do.

Whip out the cake mix. Nothing makes a kid smile faster than a waft of chocolate cake baking in the oven.

Beleaguered managers trying to placate dissatisfied customers so they can get on with their day need to adopt the same strategy.

Pull out the treats and lay on the icing. Everybody likes “free.”

Simply commiserating with the customer’s trouble and quickly opening up the candy jar (of free products, services, etc.) will oftentimes turn an unhappy customer into one willing to take the treat and run.

Given that every business deals with unhappy customers from time to time, the manager can head-off minor issues before they become major problems. In order to be in control of your business situation, check out the article “7 Tips for Busy Managers.”

Teach Them to Fish

Even busy moms secretly love to be needed.

The sweet sound of, “Honey, where’s my tie?” or “Mom, have you seen my hamster?” is enough to melt a mom’s heart.

But she’s also smart enough to give her needy family enough tools so she can hide in the tub with a juicy novel when necessary. Show me a mom with a new bottle of bath bubbles and I’ll show you a kid with a new hamster cage.

Busy managers need to empower their staff to make decisions independently when the manager is not around or can’t be disturbed.

Teaching decision-making skills to underlings not only frees up the manager’s time so they aren’t pestered by small nuisances, but it helps to bolster employees’ morale and sense of worth in the workplace.

(This sense of worth, by the way, has been scientifically proven to enhance employee engagement in the workplace.) This is not delegation.

This is empowerment on a deep and meaningful scale that can lead to higher productivity levels in the department for which the manager can take partial credit, along with their staff.

Give Away the Answers

Busy moms are masters of organization and communication. Busy moms receive a white board as part of their initiation into motherhood, which are hung where everywhere will see it, right next to the refrigerator.

The white board contains all the info the family needs.

What needs to be bought on the next grocery store trip, what time mom will be back home, when the baseball try-outs are, and how many days are left until Christmas.

Busy managers can give away the answers by keeping their bosses in on the loop. Instead of waiting for a request for a status report, email weekly updates to the boss.

Rather than being called in to a long meeting for a short 5-minute presentation, print out a 5-slide PowerPoint presentation with the information and ask the secretary to hand it out in your absence. Giving away the answers ahead of time saves busy managers from losing ground during a hectic work day.

It could be argued that moms invented the skill of managing.

It’s not a stretch to see how managers can benefit from the lessons of mom.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about best business practices.

How to Spot a Micromanager

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We’ve all been guilty at one time or another of being a micromanager whether it was in the workplace or other facets of our lives.

You can usually spot a micromanager a mile away – the individual who wants to be a good leader but goes about in the wrong manner. While trying to better their workers, athletes, students, loved ones etc. they end up creating an issue that was not there in the first place.

The micromanager in many instances becomes just that because they want to make sure everything goes according to plan, their plan.

Whether it is the boss who doesn’t have enough faith in their workers, the teacher who strays from the lesson or the coach who doesn’t trust his team, they end up micromanaging and with it bring added stress to a situation. Another way to describe it is the micromanager wants full control and will accept nothing less.

Most micromanagers come about their title unbeknownst to them. They oftentimes don’t go out of their way to fill this role, but once it consumes them they know nothing else. Like it or not, they have programmed themselves for this part and they are unlikely to change unless called on it.

 

Dangers of Micromanaging

For those individuals who have willingly or surprisingly become a micromanager, there are options. They can continue to let this role define them as managers, coaches, teachers, etc. or they can do something about it.

One of the first things the micromanager needs to assess is how their actions are impacting not only those under them, but themselves. For many micromanagers, their leadership skills or lack thereof eventually lead to them burn out, taking some of those under them along the way.

While some micromanagers need to assume that role for a while if those under them lack certain skills and/or experience, others run the potential of alienating the very individuals they spend time working with, teaching and coaching.

No one wants to feel like they are somehow inferior to those above them, made to think like they cannot make a decision or carry out a project. The person in many cases will eventually tune out the micromanager, leading to an awkward relationship at best among the two.

Having discussed the dangers, how do you know if you in fact are a micromanager?

Among the telltale signs of this problem are:

  • You decide that instead of working to educate others and provide constructive criticism , you in fact treat them as inferior, being fast to highlight their mistakes;
  • You find the need to order individuals around;
  • You have a short fuse and become frustrated, defensive and/or lash out at those who contest something you did or said;
  • You are upset when someone goes above your head to deal with your micromanaging issues.

Given the fact we all have been guilty at some point in our lives of micromanaging others, it is important to not immediately play the victim game. Whether it is in the office, the classroom or other walks of life, micromanaging doesn’t serve either the person in charge or those under them any good.

Many of us are taught from an early age that we are either followers or leaders. For many micromanagers, they take the leadership role a little too far, eventually isolating themselves as someone who others do not want to deal with.

In the event you’ve been labeled a micromanager or feel some of the above items may actually describe your leadership skills, don’t think that you cannot change things. The benefits to removing the micromanager title from your resume are numerous.

Remember, an even bigger and better leader is one who can admit their deficiencies and learn from them.

Photo credit: smh.com.au

Dave Thomas is an expert writer on items like online marketing and is based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs at Resource Nation.