Leadership and Management

The root cause of Loretta’s problem is that she makes people feel dismissed. She comes across as being intolerant and cannot accommodate people who do things differently. One employee says that according to Loretta, “it’s her way or the highway”, which is wrong in management (Hedges, 2018). The trait is likely to make people feel demotivated and lose the zeal for work. As some people said, they dread the days when there is a deadline to beat. Clearly, Loretta makes the work environment too tense that the employees are not free to explore their creativity positively.

The environment that a manager creates for her subordinates determines how productive they are likely to be under pressure. Therefore, in the case of Loretta, she makes an already tense situation like working to beat a deadline impossible to handle. However, she can exercise a different tactic when deadlines are running up. She can involve the other employees in creating a schedule and trust them to work with it without being there every step of the way (Tanner, 2019). She can also take the time to do some of the work and be available in case an employee needs help with something. In the case where an employee needs help with something simple, then Loretta should be able to help without making them feel stupid. At this point, it is clear that the employees think Loretta believes that she cannot go wrong. This mentality makes it even more difficult for them to correct Loretta when they see her going wrong.

Loretta does not create a conducive environment for the growth of the employees that report to her. Instead, the employees are afraid of asking her questions because they fear being rebuked. In this environment, she is more than likely to have people who perform dismally in their roles. In the end, the productivity, efficiency, and levels of motivation in her department are likely to decline (Mathaiyan, 2016). Therefore, Loretta can take a step back and study the people working with her. After a careful study, she will then understand how each of the employees works and know how to approach each of them. Additionally, before implementing any kind of policies or working schedules and methods, she should call for a meeting and find out how the department worked before she joined them. This is the most important step in getting the cooperation of the people working in the department (Martin, 2014). For Loretta, the way she has been running the department has already made people create a perception against her. In order to reverse the situation, Loretta needs to reassure the employees that she can come down to their level. Apparently, the people working at the department have the feeling that Loretta thinks she is better than them. Thus, Loretta needs to reassure the department that she is aware of her shortcomings and she is willing to take correction in order to improve the working conditions. She also needs to know that it is not supposed to be an empty promise; she has to be willing so that she can produce results. 

Finally, Loretta needs to stop giving the employees an air of unapproachability. As it stands, the employees working under her would not be free to approach her with a problem. In essence, it means that she is a leader and manager whose direction and instruction are taken as they are even when the employees know they are unreasonable. One employee implied that other times, Loretta is absent from the operations of the department except when there is a run-up to the deadline. It is important that her presence is felt all the time in a positive way. This way, employees are likely to understand her better. They may get accustomed to her way of doing things and will no longer feel as if they are oppressed when the deadline is close. Loretta can turn the situation around by first greeting everyone she meets on her way in with a smile. It will be the first step towards making employees feel that they can approach her for clarification or suggestion on where they feel something can be done better. Ultimately, she will find it easy to warm up to the whole office. One simple gesture will make the employees open up to her leadership as long as she takes the opportunity to connect with them rather than just focus on teaching them how to do their work. (Trunk, 2011) This approach will also help her gain confidence in the work that the employees do without feeling as if they have to micromanage everything. 

To conclude, it is important for Loretta to know that in the future when she is moved to a new department, she should take a step back and observe how things work. This way, she will avoid angering or making people feel as if she is undermining them. Loretta’s previous work record is impressive and she is likely to settle the challenges she is facing in her department in due course.

References

Hedges, K. (2018, April 19). Top Hacks To Stop Micromanaging (And Just Manage). Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2018/04/19/best-hacks-to-stop-micromanaging-and-just-manage/#7deb54c51b6a

Martin. (2014, September 24). The motivation of Your Employees | The Best Way to Do It. Retrieved from Cleverism: https://www.cleverism.com/motivation-employees-best-way/

Mathaiyan, R. (2016). Micro Management an employee’s Adversary. ICFAI University. 

Tanner, R. (2019, March 11). You’ve Hired Superstars! It’s Time to Stop Micromanaging them! Retrieved from Mangement is a journey: https://managementisajourney.com/youve-hired-superstars-its-time-to-stop-micromanaging-them/

Trunk, P. (2011, July 1). The best way to manage a micromanager. Retrieved from CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/best-way-to-manage-a-micromanager/