How to Deal with a Micromanager
Have you ever encountered a micromanager in your career? Micromanagers tend to become overly involved with their employee’s work instead of trusting their abilities. These leaders try to supervise employees intensely without allowing for much individual agency. Dealing with a micromanager can affect your productivity and make you feel like someone’s constantly looking over your shoulder as you work.
If your manager or supervisor micromanages you, here’s how you can address the situation.
Ask them how you can improve
One of the first ways to address a micromanager is to meet with them one-on-one. During the meeting, you can discuss what their expectations are of you and how you can meet them. “Schedule weekly check-ins to alleviate the hovering. This will put you and your manager at more ease,” Joyel Crawford of Crawford Leadership Strategies, LLC told Forbes. Getting direct feedback from them can help you better gauge what you need to do to stop their micromanaging tendencies.
Figure out how they think
Try to understand their perspective. Why do they feel the need to micromanage? Once you better understand their thoughts, you can strategize to reduce their micromanaging tendencies. For example, is there a workflow that you can agree on that will still give them the ability to checkin with you without hovering?
Start overdelivering
Micromanagers feel the need to be in control at all times. To beat your micromanager to the punch, start overdelivering on your work. You can give regular updates on your deliverables, tell them what you plan to accomplish for the day, deliver work early, and discuss any questions or concerns upfront.
Tell them how you feel
Don’t be afraid to give feedback to your boss. If their micromanaging is taking a toll on your work ethic, it impacts you and the entire company. However, as you discuss your concerns with your boss, avoid using the term micromanaging during the conversation, as that may cause tension.