The vast majority of employees absolutely despise being micromanaged. And it’s no wonder. There’s no faster way to show an employee you don’t trust them than by micromanaging every task they perform.

Micromanaging isn’t productive for managers either. When a manager is obsessed with being involved in every detailed task their team takes on, there’s very little time left to focus on leadership and vision.

Let’s take a look at how to avoid micromanaging employees. Doing so will create a more positive work environment for everybody involved.

Hire Qualified Employees That Can Be Trusted

When you made the hiring decision for the most recent member of your team, how many applicants were there for the position? Did you choose the most qualified, trustworthy person out of the pool?

Of course you did.

Now it’s time to let that employee shine. When you hire the best fit for an open position, there’s no need to manage their every task. Trust goes a long way toward avoiding micromanaging.

Allow For Mistakes

Mistakes are going to happen whether you micromanage or not. When mistakes happen, allow your employees to learn from them and move forward.

The best employees will not make the same mistakes twice. The ones who do might not be the best fit for their position.

Avoid Managing Tasks

Rather than managing individual tasks, manage employee expectations.

A skilled employee will know what tasks need to be completed in order to reach a desired expectation. They’ll also have the knowledge and ability to complete them.

As a manager, it’s your job to give them a high-level vision of expectations. Then allow them to work through the details on how to achieve them.

Give Employees More Responsibility

For this, your comfort zone needs to be left behind. As an employee earns more of your trust, reward them with a higher level of responsibility. Allow them to take some tasks off your plate, then trust them to do those tasks up to standard.

A good manager knows how to delegate responsibilities to trusted employees. By giving more responsibility and freedom, you’ll have a happier, more motivated worker.

Avoid the Micromanaging Temptation

Your employees were all hired to do a job that you trusted them to do. Step back and allow them to do it without managing every detail.

Your workplace morale will be vastly improved.