Are you working IN the business or ON the business?

Micromanagers work "in" the business, instead of "on" the business. What's the difference?

Working "on" the business means:

1. Being strategic - thinking about the goals of the entire organization first, then how your department fits within those over-arching goals

2. Delegating - giving clear direction and trusting your employees to do the work without you regularly checking on their progress

3. Communicating - continually linking daily work to the goals of the organization

Working "in" the business means:

1. Doing - you think it will be faster if you do it yourself, instead of teaching and coaching others

2. Checking - regularly looking at what your team is doing at a detail level

3. Worrying - more concerned with the tasks of your staff than connecting the team's work to the organization's direction

I coach leaders, and teach workshops on how to think strategically - which is how to work "on" the business. I help people look at the whole system first - starting with the organization within its context. Only by understanding where the organization is going will people be able to product results in alignment with the organization's goals.

If you want coaching or training on thinking more strategically then contact me at Valerie.MacLeod@HainesCentre.com

If you want to read more about micromanagement:

Click on Do Micromanagers Trust Their Employees? or The 3 Signs of Micromanagement

Photo by Valerie MacLeod