Who is a micromanager? Why do people micromanage? This shady way of handling workers can spread to any workplace or organization. Micro management is one of the worst, most harmful, and most demoralizing ways to run a business or group of people. It can hurt production, make it hard to keep employees, and hurt people’s health in the future. So, this article will explain micro management, the example, how to deal with it, its psychological effect, and the micro management boss.
Micro Management
Micromanaging, also called micro management, is a bad way to run a business. Gartner describes it very well: Micro management is a style of management in which managers keep a close watch on their employees’ work and processes and give them few tasks or choices to make on their own.
“Micro management” is a terrible word in today’s workplace. Bosses who interfere with their employees’ work too often or in too many ways get a bad name, and most forward-thinking companies now value employee freedom more than supervision. Research shows that giving or getting help that isn’t needed or wanted makes people feel and act badly, and it can hurt relationships with other people. Even U.S. Army General George S. Patton, who was in charge of one of the most classic command-and-control organizations in the world, knew that micromanaging was bad. He once famously said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they’ll come up with something clever that will surprise you.”
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Example of Micro Management
A micromanager’s behavior can be difficult to detect if you are used to it. But there are a few ways to tell if you are being micromanaged. This is an example of a typical case of micro management:
- Often making decisions on their own and not asking or considering what workers think.
- Checking in too often or too much on an employee’s job or progress
- Telling an employee how to do every part of a job without letting them use their own judgment or creativity
- Assigning tasks that are outside of an employee’s job title or skill level and then closely watching their progress
- Refusing to give other people tasks and instead taking on all of them yourself. Demanding to be copied on every email, even if it’s not important or relevant to the manager’s work.
- Criticizing an employee’s decisions or actions without giving them helpful feedback or direction
- Refusing to believe in an employee’s skills and taking over their tasks or responsibilities without good reason.
- Ignoring an employee’s ideas or suggestions and forcing your own without considering other points of view
- Demanding that workers work in a certain way instead of letting them use their own judgment and creativity
- Failure to provide clear expectations or direction and then condemning staff for failing to fulfill ambiguous or unstated standards.
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How to Deal With Micro Management
If you are experiencing micro management at work, try the following response to deal with it
Work to Build Trust
Before you talk to your boss about how they are micromanaging you, think about how you work. Ask yourself why your boss thinks he or she has to watch your every move. Think about how often you’ve been late to work, missed deadlines, or forgotten to fix mistakes. Make a list of things you might have done wrong and decide to fix anything you did wrong.
#1. Think and Act Ahead
Take action before your manager does if you see a trend of micro management. By guessing what they’ll do next, you may show that you can think ahead. For example, give them regular reports on the situation to make them feel less like they need to call or email you after work. Most of the time, micromanagers feel good when they know everything they need to know about a job. When you tell them this ahead of time, you build trust and make it easier for them to give you more work.
#2. Try to Understand Their Behavior
Try to figure out how stressed your boss is and think of ways to calm them down. This might make them less likely to micromanage. Assure them that you will finish your work on time and that you understand they have other things to do. Ask your boss to meet with you one-on-one more often to see if this helps ease your worries. When you try to get more people to talk to each other, it shows that you care about your job and the growth of the company.
#3. Request a Change
If you’ve tried everything else, you might want to talk to your boss about how they’re acting. Tell them that you want to do your job well and have noticed that they seem to be too involved or not needed. Ask them exactly what you could do to improve your work and earn their trust. Some bosses will be open to this, but others might not like how direct you are.
Send them a friendly email and let them know you’d like to talk about how to improve your work performance. If you get a good answer, your boss may be ready to give up some control after you talk to them. If you don’t get the answer you were hoping for, you might want to think about leaving the company. Think about whether the stress of the job is worth it.
#4. Promote Feedback
Ask people what they think about things that bother you. For instance, even if you don’t know how to perform a specific task, you can explain to your boss how you might do it and that you just need some guidance rather than handholding. This could solve problems that might have led to micro management in the past.
#5. Understand Expectations
Once you’ve told your manager about your worries about micro management, ask them what they expect from you in terms of your work. With this information, move forward and check in with your manager every day to review and make changes as needed.
#6. Suggest an Accountability System
If you’re being micromanaged, it may be due to a big-picture issue that involves your role or others’. Try to understand other aspects of a given project that may be contributing to your manager’s stress level. Ask for a team meeting so that everyone can talk about company goals and how their roles affect how certain tasks are done.
#7. Think Big
One way to improve communication is to use software that helps you keep track of your tasks and shows your progress. Managers may feel good about being able to look at their team’s work and see what jobs are still open at any time. Before you suggest this step, you should do some research on the best tools, including the benefits and costs of each. Offer to set up and teach your team how to use the system.
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Psychological Effects of Micro Management
People may not understand the psychological effects of micro management, but this kind of behavior from a boss can hurt an employee’s mental health and well-being in the long run.
Here are seven bad psychological effects of micro management,
#1. Loss of Creativity
Micromanagers often need to be in charge because they are perfectionists, very organized, and pushed by success. Unfortunately, if these strengths are not well managed, they can become weaknesses. From the point of view of an employee, being constantly limited kills creativity and new ideas. When their every move is watched, they have no room to be creative or act on their own. Little by little, they stop taking the lead, stop coming up with new ideas, and just do what they are told to do
#2. Lack of Confidence
In addition to losing their creativity, workers may also lose faith in themselves and what they can do. Imagine that your bosses want to know about every job you take on and how you do it. Would you feel like they trusted you? Micromanagers are people who try to control every step of a process too much. This generally makes people feel like they can’t be trusted, which makes them doubt their own skills. Even though they were hired because of their skills, this kind of leadership makes them question that. If they are trusted, good at their job, and suited for it, they don’t understand why every detail of their work needs to be approved all the time.
#3. Frustration and Disappointment
Micromanagers might not understand how their actions affect their coworkers and think that this is the best way to help them. The problem is that this kind of management makes things worse. Employees want to be trusted because of their skills and knowledge. They also want to improve their skills and be recognized for their strengths. But these goals aren’t met in a place where everything is closely watched. Instead of being happy and proud of their team members, they get angry and let them down. They want more freedom to do things on their own and to make mistakes so they can learn and grow.
#4. Failure in Personal and Professional Growth
From the point of view of a micromanager, the results of their work can only be good. Failure, bad performance, or complaints from customers are not options. So, they get involved in everything and closely watch what their team members do to make sure perfect results are reached. Managers shouldn’t hope for failure, but it does help people and businesses grow. By not letting their employees fail and not taking responsibility for it, they stop them from growing as people and as workers.
Micro Management Boss
You may feel micromanaged, but you’re not sure how or why. You only know that your boss is watching everything you do. They try to take over the conversation and follow you around while you work.
Here are the signs to look for if you feel you are experiencing micro management from your boss.
#1. Your Boss Checks in With You Constantly
Check-ins are important for employee happiness and productivity, but if your boss talks to you too much, it can be tiring. For example, let’s say you’re working on a project (that you’re fully prepared to do) and your boss sends you an email every couple of hours to see how things are going. If that’s the case, this overcommunication may be a sign of micro management
In the same way, a boss who asks you to meet with them more than once a week may be trying to control your tasks instead of giving you the freedom to do them on your own.
#2. You Are Scared to Make Decisions on Your Own
If someone makes fun of you for making bad decisions, it can make you afraid to make choices in the future. A boss who does too much can make you question yourself.
#3. Your Boss Obsesses Over Minor Details.
One of the most important things about a micromanager is that they pay a lot of attention to small details. They might not pay attention to the big picture because they are too busy nitpicking about your tone on the phone or how you folded the company T-shirts. It can seem like the group has lost sight of its bigger goals.
Is Micromanage Good or Bad?
Micro management is one of the worst, most harmful, and most demoralizing ways to run a business or group of people. It can hurt production, make it hard to keep employees, and hurt people’s health in the long run. The job of a boss is to give advice and help.
How Do You Politely Tell Your Boss to Stop Micromanaging?
Here are some examples of things you can say to your boss about micro management
- Know what makes them feel insecure.
- Prove that you can be trusted.
- Keep a record of your interactions.
- Communicate your progress.
- Inquire about ways to increase trust.
- Raise their awareness.
- Ask for comments.
- Try to figure out what they want.
What Causes Micromanaging?
Fear of losing power and standing as a member of the management team is the main cause of micro management. Lack of leadership skills and lack of trust in subordinates are also factors. When managers micromanage, they create conflicting energies that make it hard to build a team or give people more power.
What Is Another Word for Micromanaging?
controls every part of a business or system
What Is the Opposite of Micro Management?
Macromanagement is an effective way for leaders to motivate and give workers the tools they need to reach goals and have a better work experience.
References
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