How to Deal with Micromanagers
There are many management techniques that prohibit the development of leaders. Let’s talk about one style– the micromanager. As you advance in your career, perform a self-awareness exercise to make sure you aren’t developing poor management techniques. If you’re dealing with a micromanager, have patience, learn techniques for dealing with micromanagement and implement them.
Thoughts on “poor managers”- In business, I’ve learned that calling something bad or worthless isn’t valuable. The preferred way of saying something is terrible is to say that there is an “opportunity for development.” It puts a positive spin on something negative. Semantics aside, even if you have a poor manager, there may still be things you can learn from them. You can learn from poor managers by seeing what they could do better and learning from them.
What I’ve learned from micromanagers-
I came across an article recently entitled Micromanagement is Mismanagement. Most micromanagers don’t know they micromanage (everyone else knows, though!). It’s hard to be a leader when you are being micromanaged but I learned some things from dealing with one. Sometimes, you have to micromanage back. Providing frequent updates to micromanagers helps them to relax which in turn helps you to focus and get your job done. From the article:
Micromanagement is damaging to employees and eventually to the manager. In addition to creating stress and discontent among employees, the micromanager’s style has two critical effects:
- It inhibits employee development. No effort is made to challenge employees with learning situations. The micromanager delegates nothing of consequence, thus depriving employees of opportunity for growth. Because the micromanager often punishes mistakes, employees learn to hide their mistakes and avoid taking risks. The micromanagement style creates “yes men” or “yes women,” as employees discover it’s easiest and safest to go along with the manager.
It limits the manager’s promotional possibilities. The manager who is perceived as poor at delegation is often not considered for promotion to a level where delegation takes on even greater importance. Also, a manager who has done nothing to develop one or more potential successors is usually a poor candidate for promotion.
Micromanagement is Mismanagement also states:
The micromanager takes essential management practices to extremes and interferes with employees’ ability to do their jobs properly, while creating undue stress for them. Outstanding examples are evident in the area of performance feedback. All employees need regular feedback on performance, though some need more detailed feedback more frequently than others. From the micromanager, however, feedback tends to be constant and detailed and often excessively focused on procedural minutia rather than on overall performance, quality and results.
How do you win with a micromanager?
Communication is key. Depending on how open the lines of communication are with your manager, have a private discussion with them. I recommend this because if you do nothing, you might want to explode. Exploding is not good. Deal with the situation before it escalates. It’s not good for your personal brand or for your working relationship. Also, when talking to your manager, take precaution with how you are talking to them. You don’t want them to be defensive but you do want to improve the situation. They will feel like you are on top of things and they may be less likely to micromanage just by communicating more. Ask your manager questions in the beginning to understand budgets, deadlines, and expectations.
Provide frequent updates. Nothing pleases a micromanager more than knowing what is going on. Providing status updates to managers will make them feel more at ease not being in control. This may seem like “over updating” to you but to a micromanager, it’s peace of mind.
How have you overcome micromanagement? Let us know in the comments!
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Like you said, I’ve found success in “micromanaging back” at the micromanager — providing frequent updates on projects. To your list of suggestions I’d add giving explicit action items, directing him with specific tasks that he is needed to accomplish, forcing him to focus on his responsibilities, which both keeps him from looking over my shoulder and enabling me to get more work done because he’s doing his job and opening more opportunities for me.
My very first boss was an extreme micromanager and, as a creative, independent person, it drove me crazy. However, as I look back years later I can see how my manager’s high expectations forced me to always to do my absolute best every single time–a work ethic I continue to live by.
Luckily for me, after 9 months on the job, my boss decided to step down and I got promoted into her job!
Alex- I love the idea of giving the manager action items. This is a great suggestion to help focus direction on where it should be.
Office Newb- I think you bring a good point up– extreme micromanagers can help you stay on your toes. This can make sure you are always performing as well as you can. Congrats on the hard work, and patience, working to your advantage.
Here is one of the ways I try to deal with any management issues I run into:
Boss problems? Don’t Leave, Train Your Manager!
Here’s a radical idea: just tell the person that you don’t like being micromanaged. If your relationship isn’t good enough to tell them this, then work to make it better. You could also make a proposal. Ask for one week of non-micromanagement and then have a feedback session at the end of the week. Show them that you can perform without the constant babysitting.
Happy New Year. The Sales Team goes from “Sales” to Micro-management. So I needed to gain some insight as to how to rationally handle this. Manage the Manager is a great idea. I have to get out of the negative mind-set and into the postive of releasing the chains
I like the idea of mircomanaging back… providing updates relaxes a micro-manager and they then dont have to worry about the small details… once they get use to getting the updates they tend to back off and allow you to manage.
I do not like the idea of giving the micro-manager constant updates on the progress of your work. That is doing exactly what they want and enabling this poor management behavior. I have discussed this behavior with my supervisor, and he thinks I have the problem. There is nothing wrong with what he is doing. Fine, I will just continue to feel demeaned and loose all self confidence. I need help in a real way.
My micromanager is so bad that the only way that I can deal with her without exploding is to have an actual “outer-body experience.” By that, I mean I literally pretend that I am not a human being. Whenever I am in her presence and under her supervision, I start believing that I am a robot and I develop a robot’s mentality. This means I just answer her with “yes ma’am”, and I immediately do whatever she tells me to do without any questions or objections. Yes, of course I know that sounds crazy, but that is how I survive her incredibly dictatorship type of leadership. If I dare voice any idea or suggestion that does not totally mirrow hers’, she will quickly remind me who is the boss. When she gives instructions, she judges the process by which I follow through, instead of judging the results. It is an extremely difficult working environment to work through on a daily basis, and I often come home feeling very sad and numb.
uggh…micromanagers.
@christie- you need to be more open-minded. don’t shoot down the excellent suggestion of frequent updates, then express discord and offer no other solutions. i understand and empathize with your situation. you sound like you’ve hit a wall. i urge you…take the lemons you’ve been given and make lemonade. i, too, live under the umbrella of a direct supervisor, who’s a micromanager. what makes this worse is that i went to her personally, and i hit a brick wall. i then went over her head to express my concerns and was quickly shot down. now what do i do, right? this is not just a job to me, but my career, of which, i’ve invested 15 years of my life. i love the advice given here…i’m going to start today and see how it goes. does it empower her?…yes. am i in the position of authority to change her management ways?…no. therefore, since i can’t change her, i can change my sanity and how i deal with her. i’ll let you know how it goes…try the same and let us know how it worked for you. be open-minded.
I just cant seem to get along with my manager whom is over the lumber department i just dont like the way he does things like he tells u to do this do that oh this needs to get done oh that needs to get done and it ticks me off that he does thais and im not use to managers like this, i like getting a list from my department head looking it over and getting it done through the night and yet the manager supervisor seems to keeep adding more stuff to the list of what needs to be than what i have on the list of stuff to do and he just turns me around and i can only do so much at one time for the time bein. and we have gotten into so many arguements over the past years and butt heads its gettin to where i just want to ignore him and not talk to him anymore since we cant seem to get along and communicate t oeach other it makes me mad or g off the wall with him at times. i just dont know what to do at imes and i need some help or suggestions if u guys have any and im also seeing a counselor about this to as well but i just thought i waould try this to also thank u guys
Hi Clint,
It seems to me that you like structure. I suggest you meet with the manager, politely tell them of your frustrations, and see if they can’t give you a “to-do” list for the day. You mentioned your “to-do” list while working midnights. Well, it’s easier to do on midnights because the store is closed (not sure if this applies to you; just guessing). That may seem impossible at your job, if you work at say, Home Depot or something like that where the work environment is very dynamic. If you work days/afternoons during store hours, little fires are going to pop up constantly.
I’m not sure if your manager qualifies as a micro-manager, but more of a manager that’s giving you too many projects to complete and not asking for feedback. If your meeting doesn’t go well, you might want to work in another department.
Best of luck,
JJ
I told my supervisor that he is a micromanager, and it was really bothering me. I sent him several emails with links to articles about micromanagers and about the problem that management style causes their employees. He has started to change. He was giving me jobs that just piled on top of each other because it was too much, and I couldn’t keep up. He would then ask me repeatedly where I was on the jobs. I had to keep saying the jobs were not done yet. Now, he told me to work on two projects, and when they were completed, I could go on to the next one. I don’t feel so overwelmed and demeaned because I could not get the work done that my supervisor gave me. I also realized I was being too serious about his inquiries. I thought, when he asked about my progress, he would “punish” me some way for not having the work done, but he has never really done that. He just wanted to know the status of the work.
Having one boss that micormanages is tough already, but I have two. I feel like I am constantly being babysat even though I have been with the company for quite a few years. It’s insulting because you feel like they don’t trust you to get the job done.
For instance, the other day I had to place an order over the phone and one of my bosses sat in the chair right next to me, turned it to face me and watched me. I just turned my chair around so my back was facing her to try to hint that it’s bothering me. It’s always hard to talk to her about this because every time I even try to speak, she cuts me off and talks over me and it turns into a shouting match to “win” the conversation. The other boss is the same way.
But the way I feel is best for dealing with this for now is to always be 5 steps ahead of my projects and keep her updated. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In the meantime I’m looking for another job.
Anyone dealing with a micromanager might want to check on the web about Narcissist Personality Disorder.
Katy,I deal with my micromanaging “manager” in the same way,I stay ahead of him at all times.he is so predictable that I know exactly how he thinks so I do everything before he even asks and I sometimes get the feeling that it frustrates him because he has nothing to tell me on what to do.That being said it is very taxing on me.he calls me at home sometimes to ask something that could wait to the next day.one time I didn’t answer my cell while I was having dinner with my family,he told me to have that phone next to me at all times…I told him “could you please send that in writing?” he said ” it’s not about sending it in writing” I said “. I didn’t think so….he. Ceased or at least he is careful of when to call.he is very insecure and I have come to realize that when you challenge him,he retreats.he also thinks everybody is after his job!!!! I am looking for a change in work environment
@ Tony Yikes, that’s nuts he’s called you at home! You said it right though about your manager being predictable. Both of mine are too most of the time. Except when I get snuck up on of course. Dealing with situations like these are very difficult and annoying, but just know that YOU are doing your job right. I try to remind myself that too . People like this are control freaks and seriously need to find another outlet before they lose employees.
I wish you the best of luck in finding a different and better workplace!