Micromanager Chronicles - 01/16/2006
Ever been micromanaged? Well, let me tell you, it is a real initiative killer.
I've never understood all the complaining about micromanagement. Usually I've assumed that people are being micromanaged because they can't do anything on their own and their boss is trying to find ways to motivate them by being more involved and thereby enforcing production.
What I have found out first-hand though is that micromanagement is primarily a way for overzealous managers to feel comfortable that things are progressing the way they want in the workplace, not a way to maximize production. That may seem like a very thin line, but in the workplace, there is a world of difference.
Here is an example of how micromanagement is an initiative killer:
I'm working on a big project, a project that would formerly be worked on by my manager. Now that I am in this position though, it is my duty. I worked diligently at the beginning of the project. However, it became obvious very quickly that unless things were done exactly as my manager wished (which she was VERY passive about... "We might want to... Maybe we ought to...", etc, etc), that I would end up trashing my work and doing things the way my manager not-so-obviously wanted it. After several weeks of not being able to do anything without my manager's input, I am reduced to not doing anything at all unless it came directly from my manager's mouth or emails.
This has slowed the project to a crawl because nothing is getting done unless my manager is directly involved in doing it. This begs the question of why I am even working under this person in the first place and why they are managing instead of directly doing the project.
At this point, I have no interest in doing the project because of all the project issues that have happened as a result of micromanagement. The project is written poorly and the execution plan is very poor. It has no innovative solutions and is "the same as we have always done". Unless I have a detailed list of things to accomplish directly from my manager, nothing is happening on the project. I am also required to give my manager HOURLY updates on the progress being made.
It's a running joke at work that my manager has her head so far up my ass, she has ring around the collar.
I've never understood all the complaining about micromanagement. Usually I've assumed that people are being micromanaged because they can't do anything on their own and their boss is trying to find ways to motivate them by being more involved and thereby enforcing production.
What I have found out first-hand though is that micromanagement is primarily a way for overzealous managers to feel comfortable that things are progressing the way they want in the workplace, not a way to maximize production. That may seem like a very thin line, but in the workplace, there is a world of difference.
Here is an example of how micromanagement is an initiative killer:
I'm working on a big project, a project that would formerly be worked on by my manager. Now that I am in this position though, it is my duty. I worked diligently at the beginning of the project. However, it became obvious very quickly that unless things were done exactly as my manager wished (which she was VERY passive about... "We might want to... Maybe we ought to...", etc, etc), that I would end up trashing my work and doing things the way my manager not-so-obviously wanted it. After several weeks of not being able to do anything without my manager's input, I am reduced to not doing anything at all unless it came directly from my manager's mouth or emails.
This has slowed the project to a crawl because nothing is getting done unless my manager is directly involved in doing it. This begs the question of why I am even working under this person in the first place and why they are managing instead of directly doing the project.
At this point, I have no interest in doing the project because of all the project issues that have happened as a result of micromanagement. The project is written poorly and the execution plan is very poor. It has no innovative solutions and is "the same as we have always done". Unless I have a detailed list of things to accomplish directly from my manager, nothing is happening on the project. I am also required to give my manager HOURLY updates on the progress being made.
It's a running joke at work that my manager has her head so far up my ass, she has ring around the collar.
posted by Tyler at 9:28 AM
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