Can Your Managers Get Out of the Weeds?

Stuck in the Weeds
It is all too easy for managers who are beset by many issues at once to feel overwhelmed and find themselves stuck in a morass of paralyzing indecision. And yet, it is the manager’s responsibility to make the decisions that guide the team forward to meet business goals. Can your managers get out of the weeds?

4 Warning Signs that Your Managers Are Stuck in the Weeds
When managers are “stuck in the weeds,” they are likely to encounter the following troubling problems brought up by our new manager training participants:

• Increased Stress
  The feeling of being overwhelmed can lead to upset, frustration, and a sense of defeat. This is an unhealthy situation for anyone, but especially for someone charged with leading others.
  
  
• Increased Micromanagement
  When a manager gets overly busy, there is a tendency to think they need to micromanage and direct every aspect of their employees’ jobs. They are apt to believe that they are the only ones who can solve the team’s problems.
  
  
• Increased Disengagement
  Micromanagers can sabotage a team’s morale and undermine the team’s growth. Micromanaging fosters an environment where employees are not trusted to do the job properly and so employees disengage.
  
  
• Loss of Focus on Priorities
  When the “weeds” of the smaller day-to-day issues obscure the overall goals and accountabilities of the team, a manager cannot prioritize decisions and drive toward team and business success.

How to Help Managers Get Out of the Weeds
The good news? There are ways for managers to regain control of the weeds and provide a clear path forward. Here are three critical steps to take:

1. Learn to Delegate Effectively
   Face the fact that you cannot do it all on your own. You need to rely on your team and, when given a specific task, clear expectations, and responsibility, they will deliver. The key is effective delegation. Make sure each employee fully understands the assignment, the standards for performance, and that they will be held accountable for task completion.
   
   Check in regularly, but not too often, on whether they have any questions or need your support.
   
   
2. Provide Learning and Development
   Be sure your employees have all confidence and competence they need to fulfill their roles on the team. It is up to you to see that they have opportunities to learn and grow in their jobs. The investment you make in their learning and development will be paid back in their continued performance improvement and their loyalty to the team’s mission.
   
   
3. Be Prepared to Act
   Fear of failure can bring a team to its knees. Managers need to know that they will make some mistakes, but that these can become opportunities to learn. Inaction can be a greater failing than making a decision that needs to be adjusted as time goes on.
   

The Bottom Line
Being a manager of people is not easy. But the best managers have learned how to assign tasks appropriately, hold the team accountable, and trust both their employees and themselves to continuously improve. Can your managers get out of the weeds?

To learn more about how managers can rely more on their teams, download 3 Proven Steps to Set Your Team Up to Make Better Decisions