Warning Signs Executive Recruiters Say Lead To Micromanaging

executive recruiters

Given the complexities of working during a pandemic, work environments in most companies have changed. It’s harder to lead a successful team and ensure employee engagement and satisfaction. Many leaders have struggled to maintain an effective and efficient team. As executive recruiters, we have observed that some of those leaders have gone too far and have started to micromanage their employees.

If you find yourself having a hard time letting your team perform the task given, take the time to re-evaluate your leadership style. Are you delegating and letting go? Or do you find yourself delegating and then directing each step after that? Give your employees the chance to adapt to the new working environment with clear goals and deadlines and then step back. Here are other signs the leading marketing executive search firm notices lead to micromanaging.

Signs Executive Recruiters Say Create A Toxic Working Environment:

According to Forbes’s Autocratic Leadership study, “data from 14,033 people revealed only 11% of people want a leader to tell them exactly how to perform their work. The rest would prefer the opportunity for participation, autonomy, job crafting, and more.”

Do some self-analysis of your management style and adjust accordingly. Here are the top warning signs executive recruiters say you need to pay attention to:

  • Other people’s ideas and suggestions annoy you
  • You believe your way is the best 90% of the time
  • Regardless of others’ input, the team will always result in doing it your way
  • You have a hard time letting a task go even after it has been delegated

While these warning signs may sound obvious, the leading marketing executive search firm, MarketPro, sees some marketing executives not realize they are micromanaging. They could believe their ideas are the best and no one has told them otherwise. Instead, try asking for more ideas or opinions and create an environment where your team feels comfortable giving you their honest opinion.

According to executive recruiters, here are some of the effects of micromanagement:

  • Negatively impacts employees’ morale: When people feel their every move is criticized, they’re not going to be happy. They will end up slacking on their work because they know you will end up telling them to perform the task differently.
  • Drives high performers and strong employees away: As marketing executives, you want to reduce turnover rates as much as possible. You cannot be effective or efficient if you are constantly hiring new employees and training them.
  • Damages company’s reputation: This plays hand in hand with driving high-performing marketers away. If past employees start spreading negative comments about management, it will make recruiting a lot more difficult.
  • No innovation: creativity and innovativeness are what drives your marketing. You not only have to meet consumer’s expectations but show them you are constantly improving your brand for the better. This cannot happen if you are keeping your marketing team from testing out new methods and strategies.
  • Stunts the growth of your team: When you are constantly micromanaging, your team cannot learn from their mistakes. They will end up making the same mistakes and take the team’s effectiveness down with them.

Hiring the right marketers to create a high-functioning team can lessen your desire to micromanage. Having a knowledgeable recruiting team, who not only knows how to find the right talent but is able to distinguish top marketers, is critical. It is not enough to check off a list based on their resumes but ensure that your recruitment team has a marketing background and can separate “A” level talent. The best solution is to partner with a leading marketing executive search firm.

Author:  Melissa Van Rossum