How to Deal With Micromanagement at the Workplace

Micromanagement is one of the most dreaded realities of work. It's present in every industry and something almost everyone will experience in their professional life. It comes with a negative connotation, and rightly so. Every working individual typically has a horror story to tell about their brush with this management style. As if the work itself wasn't already challenging enough, you also have a micromanager breathing down your neck.

As such, those on the receiving end of micromanagement have much to say about the matter. However, it's just as crucial for managers like yourself to be aware of what is micromanagement and how it affects their colleagues and team dynamics. It pays to understand why this management system is frowned upon, and recognise that its benefits are few and short-lived.

What is micromanagement?

Simply put, micromanagement is a management style wherein the boss or manager excessively supervises employees or subordinates. Instead of simply assigning tasks and setting deadlines, a micromanager will monitor an employee closely and get extremely focused on day-to-day performance. It’s also more common for micromanagers to provide frequent criticism instead of essential feedback.

This leadership style may deliver short-term results. However, managers should still caution against it, as it negatively impacts employee and company morale over time. It typically makes employees feel that they are not trusted or not seen as competent at work. In the long run, the team develops insecurity and loses confidence in their work.

Why do managers do it?

Next is the question of why people become micromanagers. Most employees can easily say they have experienced being under the close scrutiny of a micromanager. In contrast, most managers are unaware or wouldn’t admit to micromanagement in the workplace.

According to Harvard Business Review, there are two mostly unconscious reasons based on fear. First, they worry about being disconnected, whether from the actual work in the company or the people in the lower ranks. Next, they want to stay in the comforts of their old jobs or how they usually did their jobs.

Desire for connection at work

Managers tend to have less direct interactions with clients or the nitty-gritty of their team’s everyday work. They may also have less interaction with their team members. This often leads to feelings of isolation or detachment. To deal with this, they resort to seeking information whenever they can. They want to be looped in all reports, emails, and meetings.

Overfamiliarity with previous role

Likewise, many managers can’t get out of their professional comfort zone. Despite rising through the ranks, they actually prefer to keep doing their previous roles in methods they are familiar with. They want to stay hands-on, tackling operational goals, troubleshooting, managing budgets, and meeting clients. However, they should instead shift their focus on a strategic rather than operational mindset. They should trust their team to take care of the day-to-day tasks and coach them only as necessary. However, this transition proves challenging to many managers, so they resort to excessively monitoring or supervising their team members.

When these two fears or worries converge, micromanagement usually occurs.

Despite the lack of in-depth research on the prevalence of micromanagement in Asia, the practice tends to be heavily influenced by the region’s social norms and cultural traits. These include collectivist rather than independent cultures, perfectionist tendencies, hierarchical culture, and dislike for the uncertain or the unplanned. Many Malaysians also value the opinions of others and want to be seen as competent and capable in the workplace. As such, on the other end of the spectrum, many feel comfortable, to a certain degree, delegating major tasks and decisions to their superiors. If anything goes wrong, they can easily turn to their managers for solutions. 

How micromanagement affects employees

Now, let’s dig deeper into micromanagement's effects on employees. As already previously mentioned, the cons outweigh the pros. Therefore, if you have already been made aware of micromanagement in your teams, it’s time for you to understand its impact on your organisation.

Pros and cons of micromanagement

In some cases, a dash of micromanagement can help employees who need an extra push, regular feedback, or closer supervision to learn the ropes of the job. As such, career experts point out three main pros of this leadership style: 

Pros of micromanagement

Extra room for mistakes and learning the ropes of the role. 

Because the micromanager usually gets involved in the smallest details of tasks, mistakes are minimised. Or, if there are any mistakes, they are typically confined internally, and only the manager sees them. This way, they can keep major hiccups from clients and the upper management.

Accurate results according to the requirements of the manager or upper management. 

Sometimes, managers or the upper management themselves have a specific desired outcome for a given project. Since micromanagers work very closely with employees, it’s easier for them to ensure the results they want.   

Inclusion of experience and expertise in an employee or team’s output. 

Given that micromanagers are experienced and knowledgeable in their field and role, they contribute expert inputs and insights that their subordinates cannot.

Cons of micromanagement

There are several cons that show why micromanagement is actually inefficient and, therefore, unfavourable for any organisation. Among them are:

It damages the trust between managers and subordinates. 

Employees who are subjected to this management style tend to feel that they are not trusted or seen as competent. In turn, they lose trust in their managers and the company itself.

It wastes time and energy. 

Time and energy that managers spend on micromanaging their subordinates can be better spent on more important matters. Likewise, team members tend to lose focus on tasks at hand every time managers ask for constant updates or quick meetings.

It tends to dampen individual creativity and team morale. 

Micromanagement also tends to make employees feel that they have little creative freedom to experiment or create out-of-the-box solutions. As a result, they feel frustrated both as individuals and as a team. Also, it often leads to a lack of innovation within the team and in their outputs.

It leads to burnout.

Micromanaged employees tend to feel extra stress on top of the pressure that already comes with work. This easily leads to burnout, which managers know very well they should avoid. Once this sets in, it negatively affects employee performance and productivity. Likewise, managers aren’t immune to burnout; micromanaging is exhausting. As such, it can make managers hate their role and the responsibilities that come with it.  

High employee attrition and turnover rate.

Put all of these cons together, and you end up with more employees leaving the company than coming in. No one likes to work in a toxic work environment that devalues their skills or contributions.     

How to spot a micromanager

It’s easy to spot a micromanager. You can tell right away by the level of control they want to have and maintain over their team. What are the tell-tale signs? They include but are not limited to:

• Requiring being CC’d on every email or report.
• Requiring approval or constant updates for every single step of a task or project.
• Reluctance to delegate tasks with the belief that they can do the job better than everyone else. 
• Tendency to dwell on the minute or inconsequential details instead of the big picture.
• Focusing more on their subordinates’ reporting than the actual work.
• Refusing to accept constructive feedback from team members.
• Literally and figuratively going over their team’s shoulder to monitor their work.
• Wanting to be kept updated on what each team member is working on.
• Never being satisfied with the outputs and deliverables of their subordinates.  

Dealing with micromanagement in the workplace

Once you are aware of micromanagement happening within your teams, it’s important to address it immediately in order to mitigate its effects on the company. There are several of steps you can take to either reform or manage a micromanager.

1. Establish a healthy office culture.

Office culture is not just about how employees uphold company values and standards. It’s also in how they treat each other and the overall feel of the work environment. Open and positive workplace cultures advocate appreciation and support among peers, making sure that their contributions and achievements are recognised. There is no room for micromanagers in this setup.

2. Identify which situations can benefit from a healthy amount of micromanagement.

Since micromanagement still comes with its own advantages, why not use it to your company’s benefit? Reframe a micromanager’s mindset by letting them know which situations can actually use a dash of micromanagement. For example, some projects may require a certain outcome that only the manager can effectively steer the team towards. Likewise, micromanagement can be helpful for specific procedures like onboarding, since new team members are still learning their way around the tasks and the company.    

3. Use technology to facilitate project management.

Many managers fall into the practice of micromanagement because of their need to have access to information. Likewise, there are some manual, time-consuming tasks that some managers may feel the urge to take over. Fortunately, there are now many project management technologies that can help managers effectively delegate tasks with minimal supervision and allow teams to stay updated at all times.

4. Make feedback a two-way process.  

Feedback should always work for both sides. Employees should be free to share how they feel about their work and their insights about improvements in the workplace. Switching from “I” into “We” also shows that managers trust their employees. It sends the message that their inputs are not only valid but also valued.

5. Encourage innovation.

Innovation is one of the things that are stifled by micromanagement. As such, creating a culture of innovation will encourage employees to share their big ideas. In an age where bright and bold ideas are paramount, employees who feel empowered to share their insights will do so not only for their personal growth but also for that of the company.

(Read more: Are You A Boss Or A Leader? 11 Qualities That Makes Them Different)

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