7 Signs You Are Micromanaging and How to Stop in the WFH Era

Your vision is to have a team effectively complete projects whether they are working from home or office without having to micromanage and watch over their shoulder.

That sounds simple enough, but if you have employees who seem disconnected or unhappy, and the team isn’t responding to you well, there is one more analysis you could do, which is looking into management style and whether you are micromanaging. Previous articles have discussed project management methods, emotional intelligence, servant leadership, and how to engage employees at work, but if that’s still not quite making the changes you had hoped for, read this article. You may think micromanagement is something you would never do, however, you may be surprised when you really dig in to find you may have some areas to try changing up.

It's imperative in the work from home era that you find ways to effectively manage. This article will discuss defining micromanagement, the signs, how to change management style, and what to try if you are working for a micromanager.

What is a micromanager?

A micromanager is essentially someone who is responsible for a job or project, or management of some sort, and they are controlling over the work to the point where it makes it difficult for the employee to make a move in the project on their own.

What is a macromanager?

This type of manager is hands-off and lets employees do their job with minimal interference. You won’t find these managers ‘looking over shoulders’ and ‘watching the clock’.

What are the 7 signs that you are one or are working with a micromanager?

Every step has to have your approval.

This would be you or your manager if they have to sign off on all edits or changes, and the team can’t take ownership in their work. It may also be where the employee tries to take ownership, and you or the manager come in and consistently make different choices, undermining the confidence in the employee.

You always know at every moment where employees are.

This would be you or your manager if they tend to know at the exact time someone takes a bathroom break and it’s now 3:23 pm and they aren’t back yet.

You are happy to find edits or errors in people’s work.

This would be you or your manager if they feel joy in finding things to fix when someone submits a draft or project. As a manager, you will be reviewing work, however, it’s an issue when you are searching for flaws and happy to find them.

You have to see every email or communication.

This would be you or your manager if they have to be cc’d on emails and on all chats so as they don’t feel left out or out of the loop on what’s going on. Employees should be able to collaborate independently to complete projects.

You get stuck on small details.

This would be you or your manager if they tend to get hung up on the very small details of a job or project. Let’s say there’s a font choice for a brochure that has to be made, and the manager is hyper-focused on what that should be. This is an issue as the manager is likely not simply giving feedback and general guidance at that point.

You ask for every detail of their week.

The longer employees are with you, the more day-to-day tasks they will be handling. It will put people on edge feeling like every move has to be accounted for and reported back. However, if things aren't getting done and you can't account for large chunks of time missing, this is a separate issue where you may need to address whether that person works for you. If work is getting done as you would expect, pushing for the small details causes stress.

You would rather do things yourself.

This would be you or your manager if they have to do things themselves to truly get the right result. This is possibly true, and if it is, you may want to rethink your hires. Most often though, you need to build your employees up to be able to do these things and this is an opportunity for them to grow.

What is the problem with micromanagement?

As someone who has left a great job solely due to micromanagement, there are several reasons you will want to catch this before it ends in these results. Employees were surveyed in a Harry Chambers’ book called My Way or the Highway, and 85% of them said morale was negatively affected in dealing with micromanagement.

1. Employee burnout: Employees are constantly working to make you happy and it’s stressful.
2. Ruins morale: The feeling of walking on eggshells and not being able to make decisions puts a downer on the work environment.
3. Employees will leave: If you aren’t allowing them to grow and use their skills, they will find somewhere that will.
4. Employees become dependent: This slows their growth as they can’t build confidence.
5. Slows productivity: You or the manager are a bottleneck.
6. Creativity is removed: You hire people to allow them to be the expert they are. When you get too involved in details, you remove the benefit of that expertise and diversity on your team.

How do you change your management style to more of a macromanager?

Idea 1: Use a RASCI or RACI chart. The link goes to a previous article about this tool. This helps define upfront the roles and responsibilities.

Idea 2: Use a project management type of software where employees can post updates when needed and you don’t have to be on every email or chat. These softwares have to be used with caution as well, as you want to make sure you aren’t requiring a micromanagement level of detail in them. That can be just as bad as being on all of the emails.

Idea 3: If you struggle with wanting to know everyone’s every move, you may want to try using email or other communication that allows some time between responses versus calling on the phone or chat where you are waiting for an instant response. As long as work is getting done, you have to allow employees time to think, you really don’t want them on edge feeling like they have to answer every chat immediately.

Idea 4: Remind yourself when you start to go down this path of why you hired the person and the value they bring. Try to step back and let them make a choice. Ask yourself how bad could it be if they make a decision you don’t completely agree with? What’s the harm in trying something new?

Idea 5: Set expectations, whether it’s project briefs or due dates, and let the team come to you and present their work. This frees you up to do other things and gives them a chance to grow.

Idea 6: Build employees to work and think independently. When they ask you questions looking for guidance, turn it around and ask what they would do. If they say, “We have problem x.” You should say, “What is your thought on how to resolve this?” Make them think and be less dependent on your constant answers.

What do you do when it’s your manager who is micromanaging?

If you are dealing with a micromanager yourself, there are some things you can try to improve the situation.

1. As hard as it may be, try understanding from their shoes. Is there anything missing that you could provide that may alleviate their nervous feelings?
2. Make it easy to get feedback from them.
3. Think about the trust level. Have you done everything you could to be open and forthcoming on projects and communication?
4. Suggest the use of RASIC or RACI charts so that expectations of roles are decided upfront.

In summary, micromanagement is something that kills morale and causes various other problems. It puts the manager in a position to be a bottleneck, and the business isn’t going to move forward, and neither will the employees. As with every other article, change has to be in steps. Try using these tips if you identify with any of the signs of a micromanager and see if you can start changing how employees respond to you.

Written by Nicole Hullihen, January 15th, 2022