Micro-managing or Macro-managing: What Works Better for a PM?

Muhammad Umais Mulki is a senior project manager with more than 10 years of professional services experience in various leadership positions. He has extensive experience managing projects from the initiation phase to closure, and has worked on defining scopes of large-scale IT projects, establishing budgets, developing timelines, scheduling deliverables, preparing project charters and plans, building teams, defining roles, managing resources, evaluating and managing risks, managing engagements and expectations, tracking progress and delivering desired results. He is a certified PMP and holds master's degrees in MIS, Marketing and Management Sciences.

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Project managers have the overall responsibility for the successful planning and execution of a project, making sure that the project is delivered as per the desired quality, within budget, on schedule and within scope. They are expected to juggle many balls at the same time while not losing their grip on the project; they must be in control from initiation to completion.

Be it managing stakeholder expectations or scope creeps and changes, project managers have to multitask and ensure that the project is on track. With so many things to look after, can project managers really be extra diligent and over-supervise everything? The answer is quite obvious: You cannot ensure the successful delivery of the project while micro-managing all the tasks yourself.

Here are some guidelines on how macro-management should be used by project managers—and when PMs should take a deep dive to maintain consistent micro-level oversight on team members and their tasks.

1. Focus on the goal. As a project manager, your focus should always be on the final goal. Yes, sometimes it is necessary to have the knowledge of how it is being achieved, but getting intensely involved in day-to-day tasks may sway your attention away from the final goal.

When you make a habit of stepping in too often to help your team—or when you frequently engage in the menial routine tasks—it becomes …

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