Have a little cheese with your whine?

Consider implementing a 3-solution policy if people keep coming to you with their complaints. My good friend Jason always said, if you have something to legitimately complain about, I will listen, but only if it also includes 3 solutions -3 ways that you feel can potentially make it better; otherwise all you are doing is whining.

Q: Complaining is easy. How easy is it to help solve the problem? Can you see this type of strategy worthwhile in your office?

Are you guilty of micromanaging?

Want a sure-fire way to demotivate your staff? Micromanage them! However, if you'd rather give them the opportunity to function at optimum efficiency, consider allowing them some flexibility to manage their own work. Here's a few questions to ask yourself. Answer yes to more than two or three and your employees may award you with a lifetime membership into Micromanagers Anonymous!

• When you delegate a duty to your staff, do you need to give your "stamp of approval" before it is considered good enough?
  
  
• Do you review and critique your employees' to-do lists?
  
  
• Do you insist that employees do things YOUR way?
  
  
• Do you spend most of your valuable time watching what your employees are doing instead of "managing" or "coaching" them?
  
  
• Do you criticize more than you compliment?
  
  
• Do you get frustrated when your employees cannot do the work as well as you can?
  
  
• Do you find yourself re-doing work they've already done?
  
  
• Do you feel the need to 'check out' an employee's work after they've accomplished it?
  
  
• Do you focus more on the "details" of a project or the "big picture" outcome?
  
  
• Do you visit each employee at his or her work area more than once a day?
  
  
• Do you give unsolicited advice to employees on personal matters that don't involve their work?
  
  
  

Questions for Discussion:

1. What's been your experience with micromanagement?
2. How have you personally dealt with being micromanaged?
3. Based on your responses to this quiz, could you be a borderline or full blown micromanager?
4. Do you feel micromanaging can be a positive thing or is it all bad?