Building Trust to Avoid Micromanagement: Possible Strategies

Sometimes creation of a positive work environment is not an easy task for managers, they must find the balance between trusting their employees and providing guidance. This is especially challenging for new managers, as they are prone to be more focused and enthusiastic about their set goals and expectations from higher management.

Whereas, while attempting to build employee confidence with trust and motivating them to be accountable, it's critical for managers not to blindly trust, without setting specific strategies and giving away the power.

Trust at Workplace

According to the research conducted by the Harvard Business Review, trust is one of the cornerstones of a successful organization. When leaders trust their employees, they empower them to take ownership of their tasks and decisions. Trust establishes confidence in the workforce, promoting a sense of loyalty and commitment to the company's vision.

In the article "The Neuroscience of Trust" by Paul J. Zak, the experiment showed that employees who feel trusted are more likely to be engaged, less stressed, creative, and proactive in finding solutions to challenges.

Source: Harvard Business Review

Consequences of Micromanagement

Micromanagement involves excessive control and constant oversight of employees' tasks and activities, which can be detrimental to both employees and organizations.

There might be defendants of it by the perception of ensuring accuracy and efficiency within the team, but from a psychological perspective, this type of management style causes:

# Unwillingness of being innovative and bringing new ideas

# Reluctancy on risk taking, not to face disapproval

# Doubt in abilities

# Stress and burnout

Based on a variety of research we can already conclude that apart from balanced trust between the parties, there are some strategies for managers to avoid the negative consequences:

Defining Expectations and Accountability

Clear goals and expectations for each employee, so they can understand their responsibilities and it will help the leaders to step back to let the employees take the lead

Empowering Employees to Make Mistakes and not to be Afraid of Failing

Failing on tasks and attempting to fix them, alongside having the full support from their manager, is the perfect learning experience for the employees out of their mistakes

Offering Sincere Support and Recourses

Understanding what resources and support the employees might need to accomplish a task, requires true empathy skill from the managers

Encourage Open Communication and Feedback

Create a culture of open communication where employees feel comfortable sharing progress, challenges, and ideas. Feedback culture here can be a perfect tool to listen to the concerns and understand possible needs

On-Time Employee Recognition

In one of the previous posts we discussed the "The Power of Employee Recognition" which could be boost employee performance, but also vital to know how and when the employee should be recognized

Trust and Delegate

As discussed above the importance of trust, could help the employee to feel confident that they can handle their responsibilities. Tasks can also be delegated based on individual strengths and expertise, allowing employees to grow and develop new skills

Agile Approach to Achieve Transparency

The nature of the Agile approach brings clarity on the progress of the deliverables for all parties not specifically managers

Source

Forbes: Blind Trust Or Micromanagement?

Harvard Business Review: The Neuroscience of Trust