Under-Management - The Lesser Known Evil
- Andre Wai
- Jul 20, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 23, 2023
Here's a good read to tickle your brain and pick up some tips from the good folks @ Harvard.
We often talk about micro-management as a negative leadership behaviour when leading teams. And we have all met/seen a micro-manager who breathes down their team's neck and stifles personal initiative and innovation.
However, there are actually much fewer articles written on under-management. In the 17 years of my career, I have encountered quite a number of under-managers as well. Some were my subordinates and some were my fellow counterparts. Interestingly, many of them often proudly proclaimed that they don't micro-managed! What they have failed to realise is that they have swung all the way to the other side to become under-managers. The issue with under-managers is that they are typically very popular with their staff as they tend to be very welfare-oriented and have the tendency to let the team slide on the goals and deliverables. Hence, to some extent, they are more difficult to handle as, unlike the micro-managers, they enjoy huge support from the staff and therefore, see little reason why they should change the way they lead their teams. They are also more likely to avoid conflict or difficult conversations with their teams. This conversations, while tough, are necessary for the teams to grow and mature in their capabilities. Instead, they often empathised with their teams and help their team give excuses for not meeting expectations or deadlines.
My favourite part of the article are these 2 paras below which, very aptly, described the problem with under-management. It also completes the illustration of the under-management vs micro-management continuum, providing food for thought on how we must intentionally calibrate our leadership style to prevent us from inadvertently becoming an under- or micro- manager.
"Too strong a desire to be liked can get in the way of fully productive management because it make you reluctant to do the things you need to do. Conflict avoidance is a related element of the equation: conflict is inherently stressful and unpleasant, and it's easy to think that one can get by with less of it, so much the better!
True, pushing your people and holding them accountable for strong performance won't win you any popularity contests, and it requires some level of comfort with conflict. But while maintaining positive relationships with your own employees is a good thing, over the long run your priority is to deliver results."
Here's a summary of what you can do to prevent under-management.
Embrace Conflict Resolution:
Encourage open and honest communication within your team
Train yourself and your team in conflict resolution techniques
Address conflicts as soon as they arise, promoting a culture of timely resolution
View Goal-Setting as a Priority:
Create a shared vision, aligning team members toward a common objective.
Collaboratively set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals with your team
Regularly revisit and evaluate goals to ensure accountability
Asking powerful open-ended questions to promote accountability
Use questions like "What options do you see?" or "How would you approach this problem?" to stimulate critical thinking
Use questions like "What input can each team member provide to address this issue?" or "How can we combine our strengths to tackle this challenge?" to promote collaboration to meet the goals instead of shifting the goalposts
Ask questions like "What have you learned from this experience?" to reinforce a culture of learning when we did not deliver on our goals
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