Posts Tagged ‘micro-management’

Stop Micromanaging!

We’re talking about the kind of manager that gives someone a task, a deadline, and then keeps ‘checking up’ to make sure things are moving along. This is micromanagement, and it’s not good.

Signs of micromanagement

Resist delegating;
Immerse themselves in overseeing the projects of others;
Start by correcting tiny details instead of looking at the big picture;
Take back delegated work before it is finished if they find a mistake in it; and
Discourage

» Continue

April 18 2007 | By Craig | Tagged: Management, manager, micro-management | 1 comment»

Putting Your Trust in . . . Trust

Trust is an essential component in almost all dealings between human beings, other than outright hostile ones like wars and terrorism. It is certainly vital for the proper running of any organization, as well as for almost all the components of trade and commerce. Lack of trust between trading partners undermines the proper functioning of business. Mistrust is a major cause of excessive (and unnecessary) workload on leaders, since the… » Continue

November 27 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: business-ethics, civilized-work, collaboration, commitment, corporate-culture, empowerment, Hamburger-Management, honesty, innovation, integrity, leadership, Lifehack, Management, micro-management, motivation, office-politics, relationships, teamwork, trust, work, work-life, workstyle | 2 comments»

Why We Should Put an End to “Hamburger Management”

Hamburger Management is a shoddy, debased version of real leadership that focuses on just three things: whatever demands least, can be used fastest, and costs least. It thrives wherever organizations seek to meet unrealistic targets with insufficient resources to maximize short-term profits. Indeed, Hamburger Management is short-term by nature, and will habitually sacrifice long-term advantage and value for the immediate gratification of bosses and investors.

To force people to work long… » Continue

November 6 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: accomplishment, anxiety, business-ethics, change, civilized-work, competition, creativity, effectiveness, Hamburger-Management, innovation, leadership, lifehacks, Management, manager, micro-management, organization, slow-leadership, strategy, stress, trust, value, work-life, work/life-balance, worklife, workplace | 3 comments»

Heresy and Progress

We live in world full of pressures to conform: to believe what others tell us is true, to toe the line, to accept the values of those in positions of power, and to follow conventional, approved paths. That’s the way to get on in life and business, we are told. You need to fit in, play the game, and avoid rocking any boats.

Fitting in and following generally accepted views on… » Continue

October 9 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: accomplishment, achievement, career, civilized-work, consumption, creativity, decision-making, delegation, economics, enjoyment, freedom, happiness, kathy+sierra, leadership, lifebalance, Lifehack, Lifestyle, Management, micro-management, Money, priorities, prioritization, slow-leadership, spending, strategy, stress, success, time, work-life, work/life-balance, worklife | 1 comment»

Creating Hardworking Idiots

The German World War II general Erich von Manstein is said to have categorized his officers into four types. The first type, he said, is lazy and stupid. His advice was to leave them alone because they don’t do any harm. The second type is hard-working and clever. He said that they make great officers because they ensure everything runs smoothly. The third group is composed of hardworking idiots. Von… » Continue

October 2 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: business, business-ethics, business-fundamentalism, civilized-work, effectiveness, leadership, Management, micro-management, priorities, prioritization, slow-leadership, strategy, work, work-life, working, worklife | 22 comments»

Quality Leadership

Suppose someone asked you to list the most important qualities you would find in an outstanding leader. What would you say? Toughness? Authority? Decisiveness, perhaps? Tenacity? You could make a case for all of these. Today’s conventional thinking about leadership tends to stress the more active, resolute qualities in a leader. Leaders are expected to get results and remain effective under the constant pressure of globalized markets.

What I want to… » Continue

August 14 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: business, civilized-work, effectiveness, generosity, incentive, leadership, listening, Management, manager, mercy, micro-management, organization, performance, restraint, slow-leadership, work-life | no comments»

Thinking About Trust

Trust in other people is one of the foundations for creating a civilized working environment. Many managers are overworked primarily because of a lack of trust. They take on too much themselves, because they don’t trust their subordinates to do the work properly. They cannot allocate enough time to their own work, because they don’t believe people will put in the required time without constant supervision. They attend pointless meetings… » Continue

July 31 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: attitude, behavior, boss, burnout, business, businesslife, civilized-work, control, corporate-culture, delegation, discontentment, fear, happiness, leadership, lifebalance, Management, manager, micro-management, office-politics, organization, respect, team, teamwork, timemanagement, trust, work, work-life, work/life-balance, working, worklife | 1 comment»

Where’s the boss?

There is a new boogeyman striking fear into top executives.

In the past decade managers have gotten pretty well brainwashed in their hero-worship of the caped crusader called Empowerment. They know it’s a good thing to strive for in their organizations. They even understand that their own work-life balance depends on it. They realize that only by driving decision-making authority as far down the hierarchy as possible will they themselves enjoy… » Continue

July 6 2006 | By Rosa | Tagged: empowerment, engagement, leadership, micro-management | 3 comments»