You’re Probably a Micromanager, Here’s How You Can Fix It

When you run a small business, you will feel like you’re juggling hundreds of tasks at once. It’s almost inevitable. You’re responsible for everything, from managing finances, customer support, employee management to marketing your products or services.

It’s important to recognise that if you find yourself saying “it’s quicker if I just do it myself” or redoing tasks because they’re not “good enough,” you might be stuck in a cycle of micromanagement. You’re the issue because you’re creating more work than is actually necessary.

As we discussed in our Podcast episode, this approach is suffocating your employees and making you feel incredibly overwhelmed.

So how do we fix this?

Fixing Your Micromanagement

Put simply… you need to let other people do their job. If you don’t have someone within your business that is skilled to do that task, then you can outsource it. Outsourcing is the practice where you would hire a third-party company to perform tasks or services you did internally.

Why is it worth it?

1. Frees Up Your Time
   When you try to do everything yourself, you limit the time available for important tasks like actually growing your business. Letting employees do the job you hired them to do will not only mean you don’t have to do it, it means that it will probably be done even better because that’s within their skill set.

2. Reduces Stress and Burnout
   Micromanaging every detail is exhausting. You should should be able to offload repetitive or time-consuming tasks, giving you space to be more creative and focus on your role within the business.

3. Access to Expertise
   You can’t be an expert in everything, and that’s okay. Outsourcing connects you with specialists who is really good in areas like accounting, marketing, IT, or HR, often delivering better results than you could on your own.

4. Increases Efficiency and Quality
   Delegating tasks to skilled employees or third-parties ensures they’re done efficiently and to a high standard. This not only saves time but also improves your businesses image.

5. Scales Your Business Without Overextending
   As your business grows, so do your responsibilities. You need to be able to trust the people around you to run different parts of the business. Then you can focus on growing your business because you’re not bogged down in tasks you shouldn’t be doing in the first place.

What Should Small Businesses Delegate?

Not all tasks are created equal. The key lies in identifying the tasks that consume most of your time but don’t actually require your direct involvement. Here are some areas to consider:

Breaking the Cycle of Micromanagement

Micromanagement often comes from a lack of trust or fear of losing control.

Your job is to create a community around you of employees and trusted service providers so that you can focus on the tasks you actually want to be doing. When you have done this, you need to trust that they will achieve the outcome that you are after. It doesn’t matter HOW they do it.

Here’s how to delegate effectively:

• Define Clear Outcomes: Focus on what needs to be achieved, not how it should be done. Provide clear goals and deadlines.

• Choose the Right Partners/Employees: Vet carefully to ensure they align with your business values and standards as well as having the right skills for the job.

• Communicate Expectations: Share your vision of the task, role or project and provide context so teams understand your priorities.

• Let Go of the “How”: Avoid micromanaging. Trust the process and people, and focus on reviewing results.

It’s not about relinquishing all control; it’s about setting your business up correctly to grow. By strategically delegating tasks, you free up your time and reduce stress.

Micromanagement can limit your creativity and reduce any motivation you might have left. If you let people do the job you hired them to do then you will have a team passionate about the vision of the business and excited to do the tasks you ask them to do.