"In business management, micromanagement is an example of poor management where the manager over-manages people unnecessarily. Instead of giving people general instructions and then allowing them to do their job, the micromanager monitors and assesses every step. The manager may be motivated by concern for details. The effect, however, may be to de-motivate employees and create resentment."
Let's follow an example:
1. Your supervisor wants to know what you're doing. Fair enough. Visibility is crucial for management. A manager needs to understand how long something takes and what the risk of it is.This situation can get very ugly very quickly, making you want to quit or start fights. It's not easy to know exactly what to do: should you talk to your manager? What if he won't listen (maybe he is a bit stubborn)? By going to his/her supervisor, will it make the relationship worse? Will he get you in trouble saying how much you've disappointed him to save his skin?
2. Your supervisor wants to understand why you're doing what you're doing. This is where it can get hairy. It's a slippery slope: First of all, if his skillset does not include yours, you'll spend a lot of time explaining him the basics, and everything else. Second, if he tends to form his own opinions and lacks openmindedness, he'll try to tell you how to do it better and why his way is better. It can get much worse than that, going to extremes like him trying to tell you how you should think, or not "believing" that you don't think the way he thinks you do.
Other aggravating factors: Starting sentences with: "As a [your position here], you should/are supposed to/are expected to...".
The easy way out: get another job.
The right way: fix it. Find a way. If you're not the only person unhappy with this supervisor, it's unfair for everyone to have to put up with it.
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ReplyDeleteSometimes getting a new job isn't really the easy way out considering the whole process of getting a new job; however, it may be the only way out. Remember to always have an exit strategy, no matter what.
ReplyDeleteGetting a new job should send a message to upper-management; especially when things aren't going well. If upper-management (read CXOs) don't realize there is poor management the company while suffer as a whole because the people who get things done cannot get them done due to lack of good leadership.
A manager must be there to help his people get the job done, not do the job for them, or think for them.
Great post!