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In recent years, control freaks have received something of a good rap. These days, “an attention to detail” is often listed as a job requirement and seen as a positive, no doubt fuelled by anecdotes about the late Steve Jobs, who famously drove his employees insane in his pursuit of the exact hue of grey for the bathroom signs in Apple stores.
Still, there’s a fine line between being driven by a relentless quest to achieve greatness, and just being a controlling jerk. Putting it another way: your micromanaging boss probably ain’t no Steve Jobs.
A micromanager intensely supervises tasks delegated to others, constantly intervening to make sure that the simplest task is done exactly the way they want it done.
It is arguably one of the deadliest management sins: it undermines the confidence of employees, restricts their freedom to approach work in a new way, stunts personal growth and generally saps their motivation and engagement. Constant interference sets a tone of mistrust, tension and second-guessing in the office.
Micromanagement is also ruinous for productivity – both for the micromanager and the micromanaged, says Gerrit Cloete, founder of Productivity Pit Stop, an organisation that trains employees to become more productive and efficiently manage their workflow.
Every time a manager checks up or interferes with an employee’s task, workflow is halted and focus is lost. At the same time, the more a manager fixates on managing small tasks, the less time they have to focus on what really matters in the business.
To address micromanagement, you should first understand where it comes from, says Cloete.
Your manager may be a raging narcissist who believes only in themselves. Or perhaps they are just a very anxious person who is paranoid about anything going wrong and losing control.
Mostly, though, micromanagement stems from a lack of trust. Trust has two components, says Cloete, quoting author Stephen Covey: character and competence. To earn trust, you need to be consistent in both areas. “Having the one in abundance won’t make up for a lack of the other.” So, even if you have a proven track record of having integrity and putting the company first, it won’t compensate for your less-than-stellar projects that weren’t delivered on time. Earn the trust of your manager by making sure your work and conduct are above reproach.
Other tips for dealing with a micromanager:
Ask the right questions before you start a task. Ensure that you understand exactly what your manager requires from you: the deadline, the exact format, the most important components and how they fit into the larger picture. This will assuage your manager’s anxiety and confirm to them that you understand what the project entails.
Focus on what is important to your manager. You may not agree with their priorities or approach, but it will get them off your back. Before starting a project, ensure that you are clear on what the key issues for your manager are.
Provide proactive updates. Give your manager constant status reports on how the job is progressing – before they ask.
Recognise that you may benefit from a bit of micromanagement. If you are new to a job, being receptive to detailed input may push you up a very helpful learning curve.
If all else fails, talk to your manager. Keeping it neutral, explain how you are perceiving their input, and how it is impacting your tasks and the business. Take them through why your approach to a task may differ, and what motivates your approach.
Are you a micromanager?
Are you CCed on emails about the details of tasks that are below your payscale? Are projects constantly delayed because team members are waiting for your approval on various matters? Are you more focused on the process of getting something done than the actual outcome itself?
Are you rarely completely satisfied with work delivered by your team?
The first step towards dealing with your micromanagement tendencies is being clear about which of your activities are critical to your business’s success, and making sure that you are devoting the vast majority of time to those tasks. Don't undermine yourself by focusing on the stuff that isn't important.
Then, before each task, create a clear framework of the project. Cloete found that Stephen Covey provided a great structure for this in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
According to Covey, the key elements of a ‘win-win agreement’ are:
- Desired results (What is the outcome?)
- Guidelines (How should it be achieved?)
- Resources (Who and what can be used to achieve the outcome?)
- Accountability (Deadlines and stakeholders)
- Consequences (What will the consequences be if the outcome is, or isn’t, achieved?)
Before delegating a task to a team member, go through each of these elements together and make sure both of you are on exactly the same page.
This is a shortened version of an article that originally appeared in the 1 September edition of finweek. By and download the magazine here.
