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Micromanaging Diminishes Everyone
I was recently approached by a leader who has a boss who is an intense micromanager. According to my friend, her boss wants to go over every document, review every agenda, and asks her to report her every move during the day. It sounded to me like more time is taken reviewing her every action than any reasonable boss has for one person. My first question to her was, has there been a problem with your performance? Are you on a performance improvement plan? Is this an intervention for past mistakes? I was told there hasn’t been any performance issues, this is just how her boss leads. My next question is about her relationship with her boss, is that good? Yes, but the constant second guessing is becoming a source of frustration which is straining the relationship. Is your boss from outside of your department? Could she be trying to learn an area of work she is not familiar with? Maybe. Okay, tell me more.
My boss just drops in to ask what I’m working on, then goes line by line asking why I responded the way I did. She asks questions and make recommendations that lets me know she does not know what I do. She reviews my meeting agendas and PowerPoint slides with the same intense focus, but never attends the meetings or presentations. If I’m gone for a meeting and am not back at my desk within 10 minutes of the end, I get a text asking where I am or if I’m coming back. If she comes into the office and I am not there, she asks my colleagues if they know where I am. She doesn’t need anything, when I get back she doesn’t say that she was looking for me or why. Yep, sounds like a micromanager to me, but what is driving this behavior?
My first thoughts are that this boss must have an issue with her employee, an issue with her work, or is just a serial micromanager. If she hasn’t already, this boss should communicate the reason for her intense interest in the work of her employee otherwise she undermines herself, demotivates the employee, and creates self-doubt in that employee. If the employee is not meeting the boss’ expectations, the boss should say so and let her know that she hopes to help her employee improve. If there is a personal problem with the employee, it needs to be hashed out. If the boss is suspicious about how the employee’s time is being used, she should say so the issue can be resolved. Further, asking colleagues to report back creates a division between colleagues that will cause mistrust, bickering, infighting and ultimately reduce productivity. A boss empowers others to solve problems, be creative and develop competence. The boss is the only person who can do it, it cannot be delegated, and it won’t happen on its own.
Generally, insecurity is the reason bosses micromanage. Micromanagers either have a lack of experience, or feel inadequate in a particular area so they compensate with their interest in the minutest details of the work. Another cause of micromanagement is OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This disorder causes the sufferer to insist that everything is done in a very particular way or it’s an absolute disaster. The last reason for micromanaging is that the boss just doesn’t have enough to do. These bosses make up for their lack of work by doing your work using you as the proxy. This boss could be any of the three or a combination of them all. Micromanaging time and using colleagues to “clock watch” is the most disturbing behavior to me because it suggests a malicious intent by the boss. Asking people in the office about a colleague you could just call sends the message that the employee has gone rogue and that the boss needs help monitoring her.
Given all the information I have been able to gather, my advice to the employee would be to confront respectfully. The last thing you want to do is make someone who is insecure feel more insecure, this just escalates their behavior and makes things much worse. The goal is not to make an enemy, it is to get to the heart of the problem and resolve it. What is the boss actually trying to accomplish? Determine that, help her achieve it and move on with your work. Because insecurity drives this type of behavior, one strategy is to help by asking the boss to offer input before you begin an assignment or ask that the boss schedule a time to do it with you. Together. If her goal is to learn, she will welcome it. If her goal is to criticize you, she will turn down the offer. I have had a boss who was overly interested in my daily schedule so each day I would email that boss my schedule. If things changed I would send an email informing the boss of the change. The boss had access to my calendar and my cell number but wanted to know anyway. After about three days of that I was informed that it was no longer necessary.
If you try talking to your boss and things don’t change, you may be in a place that isn’t a good fit for you. A good boss will give you space to do your work, learn, and sometimes fail. A good boss will be there to help put the pieces back together, reinforce the lesson, and give you tools to make sure you avoid problems in the future. If insecurity is driving your workplace and your efforts to intervene don’t work, you may want to find another place of employment. No job is worth your piece of mind. I read somewhere that your boss has a greater impact on your health than your doctor. A bad boss can harm you in more ways than your assignments, raises, and promotions, they can be a source of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and serious emotional trauma. If you are a boss, be mindful of your impact and work to be a source of strength for people. Communication requires courage, one of the essential elements of leadership. Embrace it and SOAR!
William A. Brown
November 24, 2019
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-if-your-boss-tracked-your-every-move/
https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-deal-with-a-micromanager/
