Employees hate to be micromanagement. Just ask any of them.
Employers hate it when their people don't produce results. Just ask any of them.
Now assuming you, as a business owner or manager, are not simply abdicating and putting up with poor performance and results, you are probably having regular conversations with your people to figure out HOW to get better performance and results.
The conversation often sounds like, "tell me what is happening with this…?" or "Explain what is going on with this client…?"
Believe it or not, to most employees this feels like micromanagement. To a manager, we are just trying to figure out how to fix the problem.
The end result is this method of managing "tactically" doesn't work. The solution to the problem is only temporary and specific to the circumstances in the moment. You never arrive at any permanent solution.
Granted, you might solve the problem or produce the result for that situation, but nobody really learns anything. And the solution is never scalable and rarely replicatable.
A more effective and strategic approach requires implementation of three of The Level Seven Core Principles.
#1- Apply the Principle of Defining Results and ask the question, "What is the ultimate outcome we want to accomplish?"So let's pretend you have a sales person that isn't getting enough appointments through their networking efforts.
An ineffective conversation might be: "Tell me about the call you to made to Mr. Jones today, what happened?" This is tactical troubleshooting. Then you proceed by telling the sales person what they SHOULD have said.
Rather, you ask the question, "What is the desired result?" Answer: To maximize the conversation of our prospecting calls.
#2 – Apply the Principle of Knowing What's True. Determine what the actual results are, objectively.
I might assume that the employee needs help in an area, but upon further investigation of the numbers discover that they are getting appointments with 50% of the people they talk with. I need to consider whether or not I am happy with those results before I jump in and attempt to fix something that may or may not be broken.
A good manager, knows the truth before acting.
#3 – Apply the Principle of Creating Replication. If you determine that the results, based on objective evaluation, are not up to par, then focus on the SYSTEM.
Ask yourself the question, do we have a system that ensures that our people are maximizing the conversion of calls to prospects? If not, rather than tactically solving the problem, work on the system. Test it. Then implement it.
In the end, the work you do with your people won't feel like micromanagement, because it's not. It is focused on system performance improvement and innovation and most employees are happy to participate in improving results and innovating.