An attendee from the Webinar posed an excellent question about how much management is micromanagement and how much you can let the employee decide or do on their own.
I think this question goes to the core of leadership. Do you believe that you, as an owner, will make the best decisions every time? I know I haven't made the best decisions. I know that it is my business, my profits, that will be affected. But I gave myself the benefit of learning and growing.
So how do you know if you are micromanaging or if you are leading?
Here is S's question:
The Laura scenario struck a chord. Although I cannot predetermine what may come up, when I turn power over, decisions are made I would have done differently. How can I communicate to come to me before making decisions without micromanaging?
Here is my response:
Hi S,
S, this is an excellent question.
There are a few areas critical areas of leadership.
Two, in particular, can help answer this question: mentoring and developing.
A transformational leader mentors the Culture and values of the company.
A leader will develop the careers of the network of people that run your company.
I mentioned in the Webinar that I love a good issue.
I love issues because it allows me the opportunity to teach and mentor an employee.
I would look first at what happened.
Next, how did the employee handle or want to handle the situation?
Many issues revolve around clients.
Some are system issues.
Others can be issues with employee interactions.
I had my primary aim of learning to teach in my companies.
I was very focused on how I handled a client or employee issue in the company.
I wanted them to be safe when coming to me when an employee needed guidance
or when the shit really hit the fan.
My employees knew that I would help them. I would not go off the reservation.
I would not have that hot Italian temper. (I used to be like this, but I learned a better skill.)
I acted in many issue situations. The way I consistently worked, anyone could come to me without repercussions.
The employees knew that we would fix the issue immediately.
Then we would explore the issue.
Teach what went wrong, fix it or educate the employee.
Mentor values that I want the employees to have.
If the employee did not understand it, we would have more education.
If it was just an unusual issue, we solved it and moved forward.
If it were a value that the employee did not want to do and would never do (this was always the last resort, never the first), we would need to remove her.
With my partner, he did not handle the situation as I did.
The employees learned not to go to him.
Since I ran the operation, I controlled more of the values.
So, with Laura:
We found a quiet place, just the both of us.
Again, a safe place
We looked at what had happened.
It was a system and interdepartmental system flow issue.
I went over the system and the flow.
An immediate light bulb went off in her head.
She fixed the system flow issue and learned what happens when problems arise.
She went forward understanding the value of education.
Employees watching from afar or will hear about it will also learn how we would handle situations.
I taught the value of mentoring.
I taught the value of teaching.
I taught the value of systems running the company.
The company is learning and growing with values and a Culture. You are not micromanaging the employees.
The next time she may be better equipped to handle or make better decisions. She is going to make owner-like decisions the next time.
There is an asterisk on all of the above.
I had the three keys in place, and we were growing.
I had systems in place to run the departments and company.
I hired to the values of the company.
Educated value-driven employees ran these systems.
I had positions for each of the employees. They knew the result they needed to produce. They knew what system to use and how.
My management was one to teach the systems, mentor for values, and plan for the future.
Not to control their positions. Teach people that want what the company values and desires.
The employees were to learn and do their positions, Plus work together,
This management style does not command and control people.
It is a collaboration.
S, I hope that helped.
Sincerely, Domenic
