We’ve all met and worked with that one coworker. the person who never abandons you.
These are the typical inquiries of the ubiquitous micromanager. The majority of us will run into one in the course of our careers, and if you aren’t prepared to deal with it, it can be a source of stress and resentment. So here is our advice on how to recognize a micromanager and politely dissuade them from harming your happiness and productivity.
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What Is A Micromanager?
The definition of a micromanager is necessary before we can determine how to handle one.
A micromanager is, to put it simply, someone who obtrusively gets in the way of others’ efforts at work. It can be used to describe a company owner, a direct manager, or a fellow employee.
A micromanager boss excessively supervises and micromanages the work of subordinates or employees. A micromanager will constantly remind them of the work and closely monitor their actions rather than telling them what needs to be done and by when. Additionally, they might continuously express their views and criticism of your efforts and approach.
A micromanager will scrutinize and assess each step of a task, refusing to delegate even the most pointless task to someone else, instead of allocating time to strategic thinking and direction.
Micromanagers find it extremely irritating when a subordinate or colleague makes a decision without first consulting them. They will be easily irritated when their authority is challenged, even if they have the power to.
A micromanager boss frequently places an excessive amount of emphasis on processes. They prefer constant, in-depth performance feedback to be able to see the big picture. This hinders things from running smoothly and tends to enrage people.
Narcissistic bosses, in particular, can purposefully micromanage for tactical purposes. They frequently assign tasks to others only to focus on their output in an effort to appear important, busy, or otherwise successful. This gives them the opportunity to take credit for a successful outcome or lay the blame for a failure on their delegate—a very Machiavellian tactic.
Nobody likes a boss who follows them around like a helicopter. Having someone watch over your every move while you work is the most demotivating thing you can do, especially if you have the experience to complete the task without help. When you know more about the subject than they do, it irritates me even more.
Naturally, management is difficult because everyone has goals to reach and performance standards to meet. It’s possible that the person being helicoptered over by your overly attentive boss is also experiencing this. But in order to benefit everyone at the company, the situation must be resolved; otherwise, tempers will flare and productive work simply won’t get done.
Why They Micromanage?
It will be simpler for you to develop strategies to deal with them if you understand why your boss needs such control. Here are a few potential causes for a boss to micromanage:
- mistrust for their staff.
- a feeling that their staff lacks experience.
- fear of failure.
- the anxiety of losing control.
- fear of forgetting or ignoring something.
Being truthful and taking a close look at yourself is the first step in determining where these feelings are coming from. Are you currently making their job more difficult?
To make sure your actions don’t justify your boss’s behavior, take a look at your recent productivity, attitude, and record. Make sure you’re managing deadlines, moving forward with your projects, and not putting off routine tasks. Although it may not sound too sympathetic, this is a possible cause that needs to be ruled out.
In the event that this isn’t the case, you can speak with your boss in private to learn more about their motivations. Do not immediately ask, “Why won’t you leave me alone?”!” but it’s worth digging a little to see if there’s any reason for their persistent concern.
How To Deal With A Micromanager Coworker
Your immediate superiors are not the only ones who have the potential to be intrusive in their governance. There are many toxic coworkers who seem to really enjoy telling you how to do your job. Tolerating micromanagement from a boss or manager is difficult enough; it is even worse when your alleged partner won’t stop bugging you.
But it does happen, and when you’re given a project to work on together, it can fall apart quickly when one party dominates the delegation.
It can be frustrating to deal with people who are so demanding. However, it’s not hopeless. Here are a few effective tactics for handling micromanager coworkers:
- Stay calm. Even though constantly being told what to do can be annoying, it’s crucial to maintain your composure and avoid losing your temper. By losing your temper, you run the risk of unintentionally assisting them in using the victim card and lowering your status in the eyes of superiors by allowing them to take advantage of your strong reaction. Both you and those around you will benefit from calmness.
- Be direct. In a micromanaging circumstance, one must be direct and assertive. Be composed, maintain a professional demeanor, treat others with respect, and refrain from raising heckles.
- Just ignore them. Keep in mind that your coworker’s arrogant behavior is more likely to reflect on them than it is on you. Never allow their actions or words to have an impact on you personally.
- Set healthy boundaries. Set boundaries and consistently enforce them to let others know they are not to be crossed. They’ll eventually understand your message if you’re consistent.
- Seek additional support. You can ask for assistance from an HR manager or your supervisor if your intrusive coworker won’t stop interfering with your work. You can also seek assistance from other coworkers who may be fed up and irritated with the control freak in question. They can allay your worries and support you if necessary.
- Reappraise Their Behaviour. Instead of getting upset. For trying to resist your manager’s attempts to micromanage you, step back and reevaluate the situation. You can better understand their intentions by asking them questions. Your manager may have the opportunity to look beyond themselves to consider how others perceive their actions and even consider alternative approaches to achieving the same results if you ask them thoughtfully, open-ended questions with the intention of working together.
- Create An Illusion Of Control You probably want me to use my time wisely, so I’ll try to do that. I am most productive when I work for 3 to 4 hours straight without interruptions, so I avoid checking emails or sending texts, for example. How can I accomplish that at work and be more productive, according to your advice? Learning how to make good decisions on my own is helping me develop my critical thinking abilities. I am aware that developing this skill takes time, but I am prepared to face difficulties and accept full responsibility for the results. In order to improve going forward, I want to learn from my errors. I’m confident that I can advance in this field and assist the team with upcoming tasks with your confidence and support. What steps would you recommend I take to develop this skill in light of your experience?
- Open New Lines Of Communication Anything you say about your manager’s behavior could have unintended consequences if you don’t make an effort to convey your concern for them, their priorities, and your willingness to contribute in a way that makes them successful in their position. Your manager may claim to be open to suggestions and welcome criticism, but in reality, they’ll find it difficult to connect with reality if they don’t think you have their best interests at heart.
Wrong Way To Work With A Micromanager
There is no one who enjoys being micromanaged. But no matter how you feel about the issue, it won’t go away. Working with a micromanager in the incorrect ways can involve:
Speaking Behind Their Back
You vent your anger by disparaging your boss in front of your coworkers, or you complain to their manager behind their back.
Whatever the case may be, your manager will learn about it quickly. And you already know how that will pan out.
Nobody wants to be micromanaged, and nobody wants to be micromanaged. You can only affect change by taking action. For a better future, take action today.
What have you learned from being a micromanager or working with one? Send me an email or leave a comment below with your ideas.
Fight-or-flight Response
You attempt to combat the situation by arguing with them, making derogatory remarks about them in front of others, or even refusing to perform tasks that are necessary for your boss to perform their job. You make an attempt to appear tough, but you do so in a harmful way. By doing this, you’ll infuriate your boss and make the situation worse.
You choose flight because you lack the courage to fight. By ignoring their actions and doing your job as best you can, you attempt to escape the situation. You are still troubled by your boss’s actions, but you do nothing. It has an effect on your productivity as well as the likelihood of unneeded stress and anxiety at the office.
Stop Yourself from Micromanaging Others
Do you manage with a helicopter mentality? Do you frequently feel the need to watch your team members’ backs? You can avoid being referred to as a control freak in a few different ways, though it might be difficult to break the habit. Try these:
- Practice delegating. You might feel tempted to start micromanaging your team if you can’t delegate effectively. It will be easier to assign tasks based on what actually needs to be done if you are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your team. Members of the team should benefit from this as they advance their education and professional development.
- Hire the right people. It’s easier said than done, but if you can, assemble a capable group of superstars to work with you on crucial projects, you’ll be less likely to need to lead by example. Even if you aren’t in charge of hiring, you could at least look into your options for influencing staffing choices that will affect who you work with. There is no assurance that it will succeed, but in the long run, it can only be advantageous to you if you let everyone know how they can cooperate with you most effectively.
- Clarify your expectations. From the start of the project, communicate your expectations to the team. If you don’t do this, you’ll end up shouldering more work than you should. When you take a step back and become clear about the project’s goals, metrics for evaluation, and completion deadlines, your employees will be more capable of working effectively.
- Let go of perfectionism. You’ll have the freedom to let go of micromanaging your team once you realize that a task or project can be completed using a variety of different approaches. Instead of focusing on perfectionism, be open to things not going according to plan. This will help them grow and trust you more. Give them the freedom to test out new solutions to problems and experiment with their ideas.
What are your learnings from working with a micromanager or being one? Hope you can learn a lot.
