No one is exactly sure where the term micromanaging came from, but when asked if it was ever okay to micromanage your employees, most small business owners would respond with a resounding NO!

This level of hyper control has been shown to drive both motivation and productivity to low levels and is often cited as the main reason that employees leave their companies.

People hate being micromanaged.

Duh.

While it’s probably best to avoid micromanaging whenever possible, I’m here to tell you that there are some times and situations when micromanaging is both appropriate and effective. Here are six situations where micromanaging may be the best option:

When The Company Is In Crisis – Often times owners delegate (or abdicate) so many of their day to day business tasks that they become detached from the actual results of the company. This lack of control can result in the owner being surprised by lack of cash flow, low employee morale, or customer dissatisfaction. When this happens, the owner must step in and regain control of his or her company as quickly as possible. Once the crisis has been averted and new controls are in place to ensure that the problem never happens again, it is imperative that the owner just as quickly step back out of the situation.

When Introducing A New System or Process – When employees are new at a task or are being asked to learn a new skill or change the way that they’ve been doing something, they need more support than usual. This is when micromanaging can be a real positive tool to help speed up the learning process and solidly integrate the new system into the organization. Too often employees are TOLD what to do, but not given enough training. Training – in the form of micromanaging the new process – can significantly expedite the competence of employees. By giving the employees more of the owner’s time at the beginning there is more opportunity to ask questions, fail, and remediate the problems before they are ingrained as bad habits.

When An Employee Is Struggling – An employee who is asking a lot of questions or is clearly struggling in their job is especially open to micromanagement. Most employees want to do well, and, when an employee is struggling, it is a clear indicator that he or she may need some additional attention from the owner. In fact, some employees require a great deal of structure in order to complete their jobs effectively. By providing this structure for a limited time – probably less than four weeks – you can help the employee build both confidence and competence.

When The Team Isn’t Meeting Goals – Owners like to believe that they can teach their employees to be as in-tune to their goals as they are, but sadly this is rare. We have to understand that when we set goals that they are OUR goals, not our employees’ goals. With that in mind, it’s up to us to ensure that our goals are met. If the team is having a hard time meeting the goals that we set,, it’s time to buckle down, get in the trenches and truly lead the team to the end zone. (How’s that for mixing metaphors!).

When You Are Feeling Disconnected From Your Business – Being the owner of a growing business can often take you away from doing the work that you love. Instead of spending time with your customers, or working on cool new projects, you can get bogged down in less exciting (and fulfilling) tasks. When this happens, and you become disconnected from your business, one of the best things you can do is inject some energy into the day-to-day operations of the business. Even if things are going well, taking the time to invest in a new process or create a new initiative can give you greater focus and purpose and help you become more connected to our business. But remember…it’s just for a short while. Get in and get out.

When Employee Morale Is Low – Disgruntled employees often cite “lack of competent management” as a reason for quitting their jobs. While the definition of “competent management” in and of itself is a bit vague, the general sentiment behind this complaint is that employees aren’t getting enough attention from their manager. When you see that your team morale is low or waning it’s a perfect time to dig in and work with them side-by-side to create real, powerful results.

Remember, choosing to micromanage on occasion doesn’t mean that you’re a bad manager; it simply means that you’ve determined the right times to get more involved with your business in order to help your team succeed. So go ahead and jump in every now and then – just don’t be a jerk about it.