How To Deal WIth A Micromanager 1

[maybeimaleo]

My job is great - I'm involved in projects, my opionion is sought out, I have much responsibility, I've even heard through the grapevine that the boss holds me in high regard.

The big problem is the micromanaging. The boss comes by 5-6 times a day, sometimes within an hour of each visit, asking the same questions. The boss is knee deep in management consoles, constantly telling us how to tune systems, document the environment. All the while the boss has hands in each of these, doing the work that we should be doing. Holding IT back from getting stuff done.

This one characterisitic is driving me away from here; and I've only been here nine months!

Does anyone have any advice on how I should deal with this? Do I want to leave, no, unless the micromanaging doesn't stop.

 

[strongm]

>All the while the boss has hands in each of these, doing the work that we should be doing

Um - this is not micromanagement ...

 

[maybeimaleo]

I think it is a part of it. The boss' rationale is that "we don't know his way so the boss has to do the work".

The boss should know what is going on, not constantly asking his subordinates where things are at.

 

[MikeHalloran]

From here, it looks like the boss is not real happy with how you are doing your job, and you haven't learned what he's been trying to teach you, so he's doing the job for you. ... for now. ... until he finds a replacement or you start doing the job exactly how he wants it done.

Of course I could be completely wrong, but this would be a good time to review your interactions with the boss, and consider the possibility that you may have misinterpreted what was said or what you heard.

 

[maybeimaleo]

Thanks for the input.

The boss is actually doing what I described above to everyone he manages.

I think I am doing a good job because:

- my boss has told me I am dependable and his "go to guy".
- Others in and out of the company have told me my boss holds me in high regard and that he does not want to lose me.


Having his hands in everything that's going on drives me crazy.
Being told the same thing five times drives me crazy. Even if I say I understand, or any other social queue, he blows right past it.
I don't know what else to add without repeating myself.

 

[Andrzejek]

Isn’t this a case of ‘if you want to have it done right you have to do it yourself’? And by ‘right’ I mean ‘the way I would do it. Any other way is not the way to do it’ approach.

Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[maybeimaleo]

Yeah, I suppose it is.

The responses are starting to make me doubt myself. IS he a micromanager from what I have written?

 

[Andrzejek]

Here is one definition of :

[...]Micromanagers [...] dictate exactly how to do the work and watch over every step in the process, refusing to truly delegate any decisions—and, in the process, lower morale and productivity

from how to deal with a micromanaging boss


Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[stubnski]

I've come across two flavors of micromanagers (although I'm sure there are more) - those that don't trust you to do the job, and those that try to be overly helpful. Either type of micromanager are a pain to work with but I've found that a talk and some simple workflow changes make things a lot better, of course that depends on if the manager and you will make an effort to change.

--> I've even heard through the grapevine that the boss holds me in high regard.

It sounds like your boss trusts you but he might be too helpful. Have a private meeting with him and let him know your frustrations and together workout ways you can change your work habits so you can both be happy.

--> The boss comes by 5-6 times a day, sometimes within an hour of each visit, asking the same questions.

After your boss stops by to ask questions, send him an email with your answers so he can refer to the email if he needs the answers again. It may take time for him to get into a routine of checking his emails before running to your office to ask the same questions but eventually it should lessen his visits.

--> The boss is knee deep in management consoles, constantly telling us how to tune systems...

Get access to whatever management console (or a better one) he is using and become proficient in it so you have the same monitoring information as your boss. When he walks into your office to give you tuning advice you can either say you're already on top of it or, if he is wrong, what the correct "tuning" would be.

Alternatively you could invest in a cattle prod...


Stubnski

 

[maybeimaleo]

Thanks!

I think another talk with him might be a good idea. Problem is, how do you tell someone they are micromanaging you to death?

 

[goombawaho]

Confessions of a Micromanager" by me. Hello, my name is Goombawaho and I am a control freak. Let's open this meeting of Control Freaks Anonymous. Yes, it's sort of a disease, control freak or micromanager, whatever you want to say. You have to realize that is comes as easily as breathing to folks like us. We hover over all our jobs/projects/tasks like mother birds around the baby birds, feeding each one carefully. We do things best when working on our own because nobody else can "screw up" our perfect work or timing or schedule.

We are bad bosses not because we are mean or incompetent or other common complaints, but because we know the only person that can really do things right is us and so we have to watch our employees like hawks to make sure that they aren't secretly screwing things up. We have to make sure they are doing things just as we would do them.

You are doomed in the sense that the boss WILL NOT CHANGE because he is a control freak and we never give up or let up. See the following common characteristics of a control freak which bleed over into micro management.

*Described by most people as picky and critical, as well as controlling.
*Loves order and established routines. Don't even think about touching things on his or her desk. Watch out if his or her plans have to be rearranged.
*Always needs to be right.
*Tells you who you are and what you think.
*Implies that you're wrong or inadequate when you don't agree.
*Feels attacked when questioned.
*Doesn't seem to really see or hear you.
*Would rather give orders than take them.
*Hangs onto a project forever because he or she wants it to be perfect.
*His or her controlling ways make other people feel anxious, if not alienated.
*Snoops around where he or she doesn't belong.
*Feels most comfortable when in charge.
*Winning an argument is more important than finding the best solution.
*Not getting what he or she wants is met with anger, pouting or the silent treatment.

You will need to adapt to the boss or leave. I wouldn't try to CHANGE him as you will meet with fierce resistance. I am totally serious.

 

[maybeimaleo]

I agree - my boiss does most of those things that you mention. The project manager even told me that my boss is doing one of his subordiantes work for him because "he doesn't do it right".

I am looking for another job.

 

[flapeyre]

The project manager even told me that my boss is doing one of his subordiantes work for him because "he doesn't do it right".

I am looking for another job.

The problem is that most micromanagers do not see themselves as such. I've worked for the driven, Type-A personality kind of micromanager, and it's no picnic. One manager I had pretty much designed the program for me, right down to the variable names she wanted me to use(!). When she went on maternity leave, her boss filled in (fortunately, he was an easygoing guy with whom I got along very nicely, and let me do my own thing).

Keep looking, and good luck. And remember this if you ever get to be a manager yourself: Trust your subordinates. They are professionals, just like you. Look at results, not process.

-- Francis
Francisus ego, sed non sum papa.

 

[maybeimaleo]

Sadly the job I left to come here was headed by a micro-manager. This guy would go so far as to read the pages people sent to one another!
Yes, they still used text pagers. We had a website where we could choose the person we wanted to send a text message and a field where we could enter the message. While everyone could read every page (who would want to) the Director read them all every few days.

 

[goombawaho]

That list of behaviors/characteristics I found on the internet when Googling "control freak". It fits my mother exactly. I'm sorry that my comment has led you to decide that you have to go somewhere else. After you leave, you should tell your boss in a nice way that he is impossible to work for and maybe even point him to this thread. I may be a control freak but at least I know I am. Others don't know that they are and the damage they do to others, but some know and don't care. Point being, he MIGHT change if he absorbs the bad feelings he causes.

Trust your subordinates. They are professionals, just like you.

Errr, some percentage of them are, some are not, some are incompetent, some are absent-minded professors. And that's NOT the control freak in me talking. The other thread "Find out my 'teammate' is taking off for 10 days 5 hours before he leaves." shows how bad some "subordinates" can be. Your mileage may very.

 

[tcsbiz]

Thanks!

I think another talk with him might be a good idea. Problem is, how do you tell someone they are micromanaging you to death?

You tell them in a direct manner. Do not be angry or confrontational. Be calm and state exactly what is bothering you. One thing you don't want to do is threaten to leave. You may get fired for that.

I have had two managers in my career who were like this. One I was able to gently get him to stop micro managing and trust what I was doing. I left that employment but for a different reason than the manager. The other one told be to get lost. I got a different job.

I don't know if either one of these people were a perfectionist. One had a car that had rarely seen a car wash and the other had the messiest office I had ever seen. Maybe one can be a perfectionist at work and not in other areas of life.

Good luck,

Tom

 

[KornGeek]

I don't know if either one of these people were a perfectionist. One had a car that had rarely seen a car wash and the other had the messiest office I had ever seen. Maybe one can be a perfectionist at work and not in other areas of life.

It's definitely a possibility. My office is a mess, and my car is seldom washed, but when it comes to my work, I tend to be a perfectionist. I'm very hard on myself when it comes to things I create, and similarly when I play games or sports. (Which is especially tragic because I have almost no athletic ability.) However, for the things that I somehow deem less important (such as organizing my desk or washing my car), I don't stress about it at all. I think it has to do with what I personally feel each activity says about me as a person. I'm ok with being considered messy, but I cringe at the idea that my program might work improperly and cause somebody else difficulty.

 

[maybeimaleo]

I think someone has to tell him what is going on because I have found out that everyone under his direction feels the same way that I do.

 

[flapeyre]

Trust your subordinates. They are professionals, just like you.

Errr, some percentage of them are, some are not, some are incompetent, some are absent-minded professors. And that's NOT the control freak in me talking. The other thread "Find out my 'teammate' is taking off for 10 days 5 hours before he leaves." shows how bad some "subordinates" can be. Your mileage may very.

Never meant to imply that incompetent/lazy/insubordinate colleagues get a free pass. However, having been in the business world for 35 or so years, I can tell you that trust is the key to building up a worker's confidence, and, by extension, their productivity.

Micromangement shows a lack of trust, and, in my opinion, leads to failing results.


-- Francis
Francisus ego, sed non sum papa.

 

[flapeyre]

To illustrate:

-- Francis
Francisus ego, sed non sum papa.