How to work with micromanagement

Micromanagement is a big frustration for many of us at work. We all don’t like it, but so many of us have to work with it. In this week’s podcast, Sarah and Helen delve into the science of micromanagement, why people do it and what issues it causes in the workplace. We share our top tips for coping with Micromanagement and also, how to manage yourself if this is an approach that you fall victim.

About this week’s episode:

Micromanagement comes up a lot when we’re training and coaching people as one of the most disliked features of their job. It seems like everyone experiences it at some point in their career and it has the same negative impact on all of us. We feel frustrated, stifled and less productive, but yet it still happens! Given it’s so prevalent, it’s also quite likely that some of the people who dislike being micromanaged go on to be a micromanager themselves! So, what’s going in?!

In this week’s podcast, we’re sharing our experiences of micromanagement, what we’ve learnt from the research and our tip tips for dealing with micromanagement when it’s being done to you or (gulp!) you’re the one doing it.

One of the most interesting videos we found on this was Chieh Huang’s TED Talk ‘Confessions of a Recovering Micromanager’ – it’s an amusing insight into the worldview of a micromanager.

Another good resource is this article from Harvard Business Review, about the risk of swinging too far the other way and becoming an under manager or a macromanager (a trap both Sarah and I have fallen into in the past).

So, what can you do to cope with a micromanager at work?

• Take accountability rather than blaming. Ask your manager what you can do to make sure they have what they need and ask for feedback.
• Understand the challenges they are under that may be driving the behaviour – can you come up with better solutions to help them?
• Anticipate their issues and triggers and get ahead of them – this can earn confidence and trust.

….and if you’re the micromanager, try these things out:

• Learn to trust. Take small steps to relinquish control and learn that your way isn’t always the best way, that letting go doesn’t mean dropping balls and that even if someone does make a mistake, they will learn and the world won’t end.
• Get feedback. Ask your team what is the impact of your management style on their ability to do their best work.  ‘What’s the one thing I could do to help you in your role?’ is always a great question to ask to start the discussion from a positive place.
• Prioritise what you really do need to be involved in (and check with team)

Here is the full list of resources we reference:

• Survey https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/survey-more-than-half-of-employees-have-worked-for-a-micromanager-2014-07-01
• https://www.ted.com/talks/chieh_huang_confessions_of_a_recovering_micromanager?language=en
• https://hbr.org/ideacast/2016/09/macromanagement-is-just-as-bad-as-micromanagement.html#
• https://hbr.org/2015/08/how-to-stop-micromanaging-your-team
• https://hbr.org/2016/08/why-is-micromanagement-so-infectious
• https://www.fastcompany.com/40425361/got-a-micromanager-boss-take-these-four-steps-now

Thank you as ever for listening. We know this one isn’t an easy topic if it’s something affecting you at work and hope this week’s podcast might give you some ideas for moving forward.

Helen