Management by Control

A common error for new management personnel is they tend to over manage the employees. They want to do a good job to show their boss that they were the right choice for the position, but end up going a bit to the extreme in “managing the staff.”

If the new manager has an insightful supervisor they will recognize what is happening and give guidance to the new manager.  Letting them know that it is okay to ease up on their staff and guide the new manager in ways to lead their staff, which will create a happier environment.

There are those that unfortunately do not receive guidance to learn this valuable lesson and actually like the fact that they are in control or feel that they need to be in control to do their job well. They continue to “micromanage” their employees, which is detrimental to the employees and the business.

Common displays of micromanaging are:

1. Employees are given tasks to do, but the manager always finds something wrong that they need to correct.

2. The manager has all work tasks checked out by them and checked in by them. Nothing is done until the manager has evaluated it.

3. When the employee is handling their job, such as a customer issue, the manager always steps up to take over as though the employee cannot handle the situation without their guidance.

4. They make employees spend more time reporting on their work than getting work done.

I could go on about what micromanagers do, but if you work for one you already know. The question then is what can you do about it if you are an employee?

1. As an employee you can let your manager know that you understand the pressure that they must be under and you will make sure you do the best job you can. By showing empathy to their situation you may ease their pressure on you.

2. Figure out what the key issues are that your manager micromanages and then report these things to them before they ask you about them. This might show them that you know what you are doing.

3. If things are intolerable ask if you can meet with them privately and then ask them one question “how would you feel if you were not trusted to do your job right?”

Let them know exactly how you feel about being micromanaged in an appropriate way by reversing the situations that they put you in. Usually they will have to say they would not like it, but they may say they need to continue to do it for a reason.

Micromanagers are difficult to work with, but if you have the conversation above with them, at least you know they know how you feel.  They may not change, but you may because you have confronted the situation.