My new star is micromanaging instead of being strategic. Help!

Dear Aunty B,

Six months ago I gave a very promising member of my staff a promotion from sales representative to sales supervisor. The problem is he is not doing his new job properly.

Instead he is micromanaging everyone who he used to work with. He has made everyone that reports to him do time sheets and any problems with clients must be referred to him.

His former peers are pissed off to say the least and don’t feel inspired by him. Problems are taking longer to resolve because they must be run past him. Sales have fallen a little but that could also be because of the environment.

I have tried to explain to him what is required. But instead of taking it on board he reacted negatively to the criticism.

My accountant says he needs more time. Will time sort this out or do I need to act?

PL,
Melbourne

Dear PL

Tell your accountant to stick to cashflow. Of course you need to act. Especially in this environment.

The problem is your keen new star is not spending the time to get everyone to buy into his strategy and vision. As a consequence he is afraid that his employees will not do the job properly.

You need to do two things with the new star. First he needs management development training. Make sure any course he does focuses on day-to-day management and is immediately applicable.

Second, quickly make sure your star gets embedded into a “leadership” network. He needs to work more closely with his manager and another “leader” in your organisation.

Point out that he is micro-managing and if he is focused on that, he is missing key elements of his job.

It certainly sounds like you should persevere with him – just act quickly.

Good luck,

Your Aunty B

What are you waiting for? Email your questions, problems and issues toauntyb@smartcompany.com.au right now!