Micro vs. macro management: a complete guide for team leaders

56% of US employees quit their jobs because of their boss*. Knowing this, working on your management style seems fundamental, right? Nobody likes to be controlled, whether in our personal or professional lives. Although giving more autonomy and empowering your team are the ways to go, they require balance. Learning more about micro vs. macro management helps us understand these two opposite supervising methods better.

What is the difference between micro and macro leadership? What are the pros and cons of each of these management strategies? How can you find the right balance to drive your workforce successfully? As working models become more flexible and people-focused, leadership practices also need to evolve and adapt to the trends of the future of work. 

Micro vs. macro management: definitions

What is micromanagement?

Do you ask your employees to be informed about every action they take? Do you need to validate every step of each operation your team is working on? Do you spend more time monitoring your staff than focusing on the big picture and finding solutions to reach goals? Micromanagers can’t help but overcontrol what their coworkers are doing. 

This “helicopter” leadership can sometimes be helpful for short-term or challenging projects that require a straightforward structure. But, as highlighted in our articles about employee burnout and toxic work culture, micromanaging is a leadership style that benefits neither workers nor companies. Eventually, it contributes more to negative impacts than good ones. Stay with us: in the following paragraphs, we will cover the benefits and drawbacks of micromanagement.

What is macro management?

Macro managers adopt a different style that tends to be the opposite of micromanagement. They empower their team members by sharing the goal to reach with them but letting them figure out the most successful way to achieve it.  The objective of macro leaders is to support their coworkers without controlling every detail of their work. Macro management is a leadership established on trust and autonomy. The focus is on the outcome more than on the steps between.

Regarding management’s best practices, a more flexible approach better matches today’s employees’ expectations. As with micromanagement, we will also discuss the perks and downsides of this type of leadership. But yes, when knowing that the future trends of work are based on more flexibility and employee-centricity, macro supervision is undoubtedly part of the modern ways of working.

👉 Read our article about successfully leading in a hybrid work environment!

The pros and cons of micromanaging vs. macromanaging: the impact of these two management styles on employees

What are the pros and cons of micromanaging?

Micromanagement doesn’t bring a lot of positive aspects to workers and, therefore, to an organization. Quite the opposite. This leadership style refrains people from thriving and developing their skill set. Your team members don’t use their full potential and start working in auto mode. Although success without failure is a myth, micromanaging doesn’t leave room for trying new concepts or making mistakes.

However, knowing your workforce’s needs is fundamental. Even if most employees favor macro management, some feel reassured to refer to their supervisor before taking action. But again, as a leader, overcontrolling every detail is not the best way to help them grow personally and professionally.

💡 Learn more about the psychological effects of micromanagement.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a macro-management style?

Macro management benefits people and, consequently, the company in many ways. Managers can focus on the bigger picture instead of wasting time excessively supervising their team members. Employees can make the most of their skills, think outside the box, and handle their tasks and schedules according to their needs. Not only does it foster trust in the workplace, but it also provides them with the autonomy they are asking for. Moreover, macro bosses help boost and motivate workers by allowing them to challenge themselves and keep the passion for their role alive.

However, this leadership style must be balanced, as employees shouldn’t feel left alone. Supervisors have to be clear about the following goals to avoid a team that feels lost. They need to make sure everyone knows their role and responsibilities. Again, the key is to support your workforce, encourage them to find solutions by themselves, and let them fail without over controlling them.

💜 Discover the pros and cons of employee empowerment!

The difference between micro and macro leadership: comparison of both leadership styles with concrete examples

Now that you have a better understanding of the pros and cons of these two types of management. Let’s see what micromanagement and macro leadership look like in practice.

A balanced leadership style: the key to managing hybrid teams successfully

Micromanaging doesn’t fulfill workers’ expectations in terms of management

To understand better what people expect from their boss, we recommend you read our article about employees’ expectations. As highlighted in that post, workers seek professional development (reskilling, upskilling, and career growth), autonomy, flexibility, purpose, transparency, and accountability.

Unfortunately, micromanagers provide very little (or even the opposite) of these key aspects, negatively impacting employees’ satisfaction and morale. Unless your team members like to be micromanaged, which is rarely the case, this management style usually leads to two paths. Either people quit. Or they stay, but their mental health is strongly affected, resulting in low performance and often burnout.

Micromanaging is the wrong approach if you want to create a positive work environment, foster employee centricity, and improve employee happiness.

Macro management needs to be adjusted according to your team profile

Do you want to encourage your employees to grow and challenge their abilities? Do you enjoy having your coworkers’ points of view and knowing that the next big idea could come from the creative minds of your team? Are you looking for methods to foster engagement and productivity? Then macro management is your best shot. However, for any successful strategy, you must first determine what your staff expects from you.

As mentioned, some people need structure to perform well. In that case, the goal is to support them without micromanaging them. As much as sharing constructive feedback with your employees is key to making them grow, the other way around is crucial, too. Ask your team members how you can best assist them and what they need from you to thrive.

The ideal balance is to give people the autonomy they require and be present simultaneously without overcontrolling. There is no magic trick, but the information in the next paragraph can help you.

The key ingredients of successful leadership are communication, organization, and employee-centricity

Macro leaders have to focus on three fundamental aspects to get the most out of it: 

1. They must adopt a transparent and straightforward communication strategy.
2. They must have a spotless organization to enable smoother collaboration among their workforce. 
3. They must always prioritize an employee-centric approach. 
   

This last recommendation is crucial. Each business is unique, and all individuals have distinct needs. Understanding what your team members expect regarding management and which practices can help them thrive is essential to being a great leader. You can discuss it in one-to-one sessions or through different means, such as feedback forms or employee satisfaction questionnaires.

Knowing how to support your coworkers is even more critical if you are among the many companies that have embraced hybrid work over the last few years. Managing remote employees can be challenging. On one side, it can quickly increase micromanaging behaviors. On the other hand, macro-managed teams can feel disconnected and isolated if their supervisor doesn’t promote collaboration.

The difference between micro and macro leadership is quite extensive. Still, although a macro approach is more suitable for employees, it must be balanced. Now that you can compare all the pros and cons of micro vs. macro management, you are fully equipped to improve your management style. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. The goal is to meet your team members’ needs to make them thrive.

Flexibility and employee experience are key to a successful and positive work environment. Request a free demo of the deskbird app to discover how we can support you in managing a hybrid workplace effectively while giving autonomy to your staff!

*According to the 2022 Survey about Great Resignation conducted by FlexJob