Macro Manager

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21 Aug, 2024

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A Macro Manager is a manager who handles strategic planning and decision-making, defines objectives, assigns key responsibility areas (KRAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs), and facilitates goal achievement. They assign tasks to their team members but do not monitor, interfere, or question their and their subordinates’ every move or action. They maintain a calm approach while leading people, letting teams work with minimal or no direct interference or supervision.

A leader adopting macromanagement can build strong professional relationships with teams or employees since they trust people to do their jobs without directing or supervising them at every step. Such managers can boost team morale and confidence. They do not believe in pointing out mistakes or questioning people about pending tasks before they are due. Under this team management style, employees tend to become more productive and feel more positive about work.

What Is Macro Manager?

Macro managers follow a hands-off approach while leading teams, giving them ample opportunity, time, and space to complete their tasks independently.
On the other hand, micro managers constantly track assigned tasks, question teams about work, and remind them of tasks and deadlines frequently, if not all the time.
Macro managers are generally celebrated in the workplace because micromanagement often discourages employees and lowers their morale.
Macromanagement is suitable when competent people with a sense of responsibility are recruited to form teams, and processes are streamlined.

Macro Manager Explained

A macro manager is a professional who exhibits a leadership style that promotes a relaxed yet responsible work style. They do not enforce rules and protocols unless required. Such managers or leaders do not believe in reminding teams about their targets and deadlines constantly or pointing out routine mistakes that have negligible impact on the business. While micromanagement may result in teams feeling mentally exhausted, macro managers do not burden employees with unnecessary inquiries about assigned tasks.

Every company has a style and culture defined by its top management and executed by the middle management and other staff assigned to handle teams. The two most common forms of management are macro and micromanagement. Usually, companies with a long-term vision, broad growth objectives, and confidence in people adopt the macromanagement style.

The macro manager definition states that a workplace led by a macro manager has a structured environment that enables employees to make decisions, work at a comfortable pace, keep organizational goals in view, and abide by deadlines. A macro manager is known to have a high level of faith, trust, and confidence in their teams, allowing people to work with minimum or no supervision. Such managers intervene only when it is unavoidable.

In many ways, macro managers prepare future managers in an organization to learn, upskill, and acquire maximum knowledge. They help people become more responsive, accountable, and confident. This strategy usually works better when companies hire skilled, reliable, and responsible people as opposed to hiring those who do not exhibit the required skills or dedication to do good work.

Examples

Here are two hypothetical examples that explain the concept.

Example #1

Jennifer is a manager at an advertising agency, and nine people report to her. Each employee excels in a particular department. Whenever a new client comes on board, Jennifer likes to call a first meeting with all her team members and explain the client’s requirements. After this, she leaves it up to her team members to manage the tasks. She lets her employees work independently, take responsibility, schedule meetings, and make critical decisions.

Jennifer follows a hands-off approach and does not pester her team members about deadlines or reports. This technique improves the overall efficiency of the team and boosts their confidence. They feel accountable for their actions. Only when there is a need for supervision or advice, Jennifer steps in to help them. In this way, Jennifer, a macro manager, builds a great team of performers and achievers.

In the real world, it takes in-depth planning and unwavering trust to be a macro manager and build a team.

Example #2

Suppose Julia owns a bottling plant. She closely controls operations, tracks how teams work, and demands immediate responses. She wants to see tangible results without paying much attention to resource availability. Her people management skills are the primary cause of attrition at the bottling plant. Eventually, she suffered a huge business loss as orders could not be fulfilled on time.

After this incident, Julia called a meeting to find out where the real problem was. She gathered enough information to understand that her approach (micromanagement) was discouraging people. Taking this input seriously, Julia shifted to a macromanagement style. In a few months, the team productivity increased, and employees started making independent decisions. Thus, the right approach helped Julia save her existing business and acquire more clients every year.

How To Deal With Them?

Having a macro manager at the workplace is a plus point. However, an employee must make sure their actions and decisions are aligned with the management strategy. The following actions are recommended:

Before starting a new project, an employee must ascertain they have gathered the necessary instructions, pointers, and requirements and communicated with their managers fully to avoid delays, lapses, or serious issues.
While working under such managers, employees must leverage this opportunity and discuss work ideas with them.
A hands-off approach promotes and facilitates employee autonomy. However, teams should request timely feedback and schedule meetings with their managers to determine if they are on the right track and note any changes in plans or expected outcomes.
Employees must share work updates through a defined process, email managers to keep communication records, and report to line managers or other executives in line with the requirements.
While macromanagement offers several benefits, particularly in terms of offering teams autonomy, employees should not presume or take things for granted.
A macro manager encourages employees to explore ideas and opportunities and self-manage to achieve outcomes. This helps them become more productive. Hence, employees must use such opportunities to further the company’s goals in addition to personal development.

Advantages And Disadvantages

The advantages of a macro manager are:

Macro managers encourage trust between the management and employees.
They allow employees to exercise a certain level of control and autonomy.
Employees working under such managers automatically develop new skills and acquire knowledge.
Employee engagement typically increases drastically with low interference and authority.
They acknowledge every individual's values, beliefs, and perspectives.
They establish strong processes for strategic alignment, creativity, brainstorming, and professionalism in the workplace.
Through trust, macro managers make employees more responsible, developing a sense of transparency and accountability across teams.

The disadvantages of macro manager are:

At times, communication may be lacking, and information flow may be inconsistent or slow.
Since all employees may not be capable of independent decision-making, a higher chance of mistakes or errors at work exists.
The lack of supervision may introduce risks across processes, especially when teams are required to deal with sudden requirements or changes.
Macromanagement demands immense trust. They must find employees or teams worthy of such trust. Recruiting the right people and retaining them is a challenge, but a greater challenge lies in building reliable teams.
Macromanagement requires long-term vision and strategizing.
Employees accustomed to micromanagement may not feel comfortable working under or alongside a macro manager.

Macro Manager vs Micro Manager

Macromanagement and micromanagement are common leadership styles observed across workplaces. The approach and structure these styles bring are different and hence, the role of a macro and micromanager also differs accordingly. Here are the key differences.

Basis	Macro Manager	Micro Manager
Meaning	A macro manager gives employees more responsibility, offers autonomy, and leads rationally with a calm mind.	Micro managers closely monitor employees' work, constantly remind them about deadlines, and give feedback even when it is not required.
Trust level	They trust their employees’ decision-making capacities.	A micro manager enforces rules, insists teams follow a set path, and gives clear orders at all times.
Supervision level	The degree of rigidity and supervision is low when working alongside such managers.	The degree of rigidity and supervision is high when working alongside a macro manager.
Growth opportunities	Creativity and innovation are crucial parts of a macro manager’s philosophy, which is believed to enable growth at all levels.	Micro managers do not allow employees or teams to bring new ideas or themes to work. This is believed to stunt growth at different levels.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the importance of a macro manager?

These managers hold considerable importance in an organization for the following reasons:
● They confidently shape new employees to take control and prepare them to become managers in the future.
● People following this management style promote a healthy workplace environment, which significantly impacts business operations in the long run.
Macro managers assign responsibility to employees, making them more confident and accountable.

2. Can people develop the skills required to be a macro manager?

It is possible to develop the skills required to become a macro manager. Delegation, communication, and rational thinking are some attributes that can be learned, adopted, and applied. Learning from other individuals is also a possibility. Practicing skills that promote the “organizational big picture” may help people become effective macro managers.

3. Do all companies favor macromanagement?

Every company may not favor macromanagement. The management style a company incorporates depends on its business model, business volume, size, industry, and employee type, among other things. Hence, certain organizations may not be structured or built for this management style.