Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 1, Issue 49;   December 5, 2001: When Your Boss Is a Micromanager

When Your Boss Is a Micromanager

by

If your boss is a micromanager, your life can be a seemingly endless misery of humiliation and frustration. Changing your boss is one possible solution, but it's unlikely to succeed. What you can do is change the way you experience the micromanagement.

Robert stepped into Kevin's office, closed the door and sat down in a heap. "I'll call you back," Kevin said to the phone. He hung up and asked Robert, "Well?" Robert gazed blankly at the floor. "He wants to screen every resume and interview every candidate himself. With his schedule, we'll never get this done."

"Well, Robert, he is a micromanager," Kevin said. "But there's a bright side — we don't have to do it."

Robert sighed. "No, we still do, but now he does it too. He's not micromanaging, he's nanomanaging."

Do you work for a micromanager? Here are some indicators:

  • Bottleneck road sign You're told what must be done, when it's due, and precisely how to do it.
  • Your boss's instructions often belie an incomplete or incorrect understanding of the work.
  • You have to report status more often than your boss could possibly need for constructive intervention.
  • Your boss has become a bottleneck, because he or she is too involved in the details of what happens in the organization.

If your boss micromanages, what can you do? Much is written about changing your boss, and sometimes some of it works. But unless your boss actually wants your help in learning not to micromanage, changing your boss is an unlikely outcome. About the last thing a typical micromanager wants from a subordinate is help in stopping the micromanagement.

What you can do is change the way you experience the micromanagement. You can cope effectively if you keep some basics in mind.

Everyone feels the pain
Micromanaging hurts people, and that's sad. Micromanagers are also in pain. They take on the burdens of micromanagement in a futile attempt to stop their pain. Everyone is caught in the same painful place.
"The problem is never the problem — the coping is the problem." — Virginia Satir
Most micromanagers
don't want your help with
their micromanagement.
Work on changing your
own experience instead.
Since micromanagement is a way of asserting control, try to understand what your boss sees as out of control. Recall a time when you felt things were out of your control. How did you cope?
You still like some things about your job
What do you like about your job? The work? The pay? The independence you still have? Move it to the center of your work life. Celebrating it creates energy for dealing with the more difficult parts of your job.
You have choices
You can choose to work elsewhere. That choice might not be appealing, but you can choose it. If you stay, stay because staying is the best option available.

Commiserating with your peers — or miserating solo — might feel good in the moment, but it puts the focus on the hurt. Instead, focus on what you love. Go to top Top  Next issue: Workplace Politics vs. Integrity  Next Issue

303 Secrets of Workplace PoliticsIs every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

For a survey of tactics for managing pressure, take a look at the series that begins with "Managing Pressure: Communications and Expectations," Point Lookout for December 13, 2006.

For more about micromanagement, see "There Are No Micromanagers," Point Lookout for January 7, 2004; "Are You Micromanaging Yourself?," Point Lookout for November 24, 2004; "How to Tell If You Work for a Nanomanager," Point Lookout for March 7, 2007; "Reverse Micromanagement," Point Lookout for July 18, 2007; and "Lateral Micromanagement," Point Lookout for September 10, 2008.

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrenHoWzUJVeioCfozEIner@ChacbnsTPttsdDaRAswloCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

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A labyrinth. It's a good metaphor for what toxic disrupts try to erect in the path of the group.Coming June 7: Toxic Disrupters: Tactics
Some people tend to disrupt meetings. Their motives vary, but they use techniques drawn from a limited collection. Examples: they violate norms, demand attention, mess with the agenda, and sow distrust. Response begins with recognizing their tactics. Available here and by RSS on June 7.
A wolf pack, probably preparing for a huntAnd on June 14: Pseudo-Collaborations
Most workplace collaborations produce results of value. But some collaborations — pseudo-collaborations — are inherently incapable of producing value, due to performance management systems, or lack of authority, or lack of access to information. Available here and by RSS on June 14.

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I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenHoWzUJVeioCfozEIner@ChacbnsTPttsdDaRAswloCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

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