
Rarely, if ever, do micromanagers adopt a “get it done, I don’t care how,” attitude. These bosses constantly question the breakdown of the workday, and want to know how you spend your time at all times. Micromanagers demand this kind of precision no matter what the position. In professions that have billable hours, such as the legal field, consulting, and many creative industries, there is an expectation that workers record precisely how they spend each minute. Asks you to account for every minute of the workday Thus, the micromanager’s fears about productivity become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more meetings managers force the staff to attend, the less time the team has to finish tasks. Attendance is usually mandatory, and the manager will interrogate employees who fail to show up. Tellingly, these managers tend to do most of the talking. Every day, this manager seems to have a pressing topic to discuss. These gatherings go beyond short daily huddles and check-ins. Constant meetings are a hallmark of micromanagers. Not every conversation needs to be a meeting, yet micromanagers seem not to have received this message. These leaders make their physical presence known, and may well believe that the staff will slack if out of eyesight for too long. The boss may try to pass these interactions off as a coincidence, but these run-ins happen too frequently to be natural. These managers try not to make it obvious that they are checking up on you, yet all signs point to snooping. On days off, the micromanager conveniently left an item in the office or stopped by just because they were in the area. When you pop into the break room to grab a cuppa, the boss is not far behind. Constantly taking the route that leads past your desk. Maybe stopping to chat or glancing your way after talking with a colleague. Perhaps checking the paper in the printer or rifling through a cabinet. Every time you look up, the boss happens to be nearby. The intention is to be thorough, yet this approach often has the opposite effect, as teammates tend to tune the manager out, and may miss important information as a result. While not every micromanager may over-communicate to this extent, these leaders reach out more than is necessary. Team members cringe upon getting new notifications, knowing it is likely the boss asking for an update. Such bosses ask employees dozens of questions a day, either in person or via phone or email. These managers over-explain instructions, detailing every step no matter how many times an employee insists, “I got it.” Instead of presenting highlights, these managers relay every piece of information. Over-communicatesĬommunication is usually a good thing, however micromanagers take it to the extreme. The boss may say that they “prefer things to be done a certain way,” and insist on overseeing every step. No matter how many times employees may offer to help, the manager will never relinquish responsibilities, even when team members prove themselves capable and willing. “See? I have to do everything because my staff never does anything!” Worse still, the micromanager may label this lack of leadership as laziness, and use the inactivity to justify the actions. The micromanager boss may run around hectically trying to do everything, while employees sit around awaiting instructions. These behaviors can lead to delays and uneven workloads. Such leaders have a tendency to take over tasks “to demonstrate the correct method,” and may refuse to let employees work alone no matter how confident in their abilities team members are.Įven when the manager does assign duties, employees usually have to obtain approval before moving to the next stage of the process. These bosses seem to believe that the workplace will fall apart if they do not oversee every step.


Instead of delegating, micromanagers will take on or have a hand in all functions.

Micromanagement is often a symptom of control issues. Here are some common behaviors of micromanagers.
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how to give feedback to a micromanager boss.Micromanagers can negatively affect employee morale, company culture, and impact employee turnover via quiet firing. Micromanagement is one of the most common signs of a bad manager, and signs of bad leadership. Recognizing the signs of a micromanager at work can help you find ways to deal with it. For example, these managers may call frequent meetings, ask for you to account for every minute of the workday, or position themselves as the sole point of contact. Micromanagers are overly-involved supervisors who observe or instruct employees to an excessive degree. You find our guide to identifying and dealing with micromanaging bosses.
