Successfully Deal with a Micromanager boss –
If you are finding it had to understand your manager besides doing whatever he asks for, if besides being a dominating senior who is commanding and yet remain unsatisfied, giving you tough time in focusing on what work you must do and what you are being made to be done, then you are surely dealing with micromanager boss. These kinds of managers are the most difficult ones to influence or could be convinced easily.
A healthy work environment is also the first priority of any employee in the organization besides the right talent and sound management. A senior who guides his team plays an important role as he leaves an impression of respect and authority among his subordinates. A micromanager boss in such a situation is a harder one to be associated with his tough outlook makes him always taken in the wrong context as well as his unconvincing nature pulls him away from his team members.
It is maybe an instinct or experience that makes a manger difficult to gel with his people; he lacks trust in others and is in constant look for an opportunity to pull other down. Unlike his behavior which is unpredictable his expectations are also very naïve and unreasonable unaware of the fact that his attitude creates lack of confidence as well as insecurity among his people.
Working under a micromanager boss may sometimes put an employee in an awkward situation thereby affecting his job performance and commitment level with his organization.
Let us understand how we can find out whether your boss is a micromanager boss and how can you deal with a person like him.
-
Prove Your Capability
Saying yes to your boss’s instruction may not satisfy him he may want more than his expectation. Do you feel even after delivering to your boss on the basis of what exactly he states, he still looks disappointing and leaves you with no appreciation or feedback. Then its time you need to do more than what is expected of you. Show your boss that you can be an achiever by amending task before timelines and try to win his trust by doing as well as informing every little thing that you do. In a simple language go over and above his expectations and win his trust right from day one. You may have to think one step ahead of your boss; stay prepared of what he may inquire and cross-check every detail to avoid any mistake. With a person like him, an employee may need to be smart to use less of his energy in attending him and do as much as work to showcase his competencies.
-
Amending Guidelines
Some manager’s likes to give unimportant details over a project to make sure things are going as per his way…he may ask to send his team members regular reminders such as ‘Mail me the work progress report by EOD’… ‘Review the task assigned immediately’… this may be very irritating as they not only divert your attention but also leads to mounting unnecessary stress to accomplish the task. Micromanager boss believes in being dominating as well as commanding but their attitude remains positive towards accomplishing the task for the benefit of the organization. If you want to stay on his good books then it is important for you to amend his guidelines carefully. Doing this you may be will to win his confidence and trust resulting to he may acknowledge your work.
-
Stay Reliable
Micromanager boss is extremely disciplined with respect to work timelines as well as office disciple. Therefore this may be another area where you may win his confidence by staying discipline as well as reliable. You may have seen your other colleague comes late sometimes but are not threshed as badly as you were? Well, it is because your manager is extremely punctual and except no reason for other being late. For any manager, it is easier to handle an office environment where every team member understands the value of their contribution of work and time towards achieving the organization’s goal. In a team, if few members do not deliver work as required the manager would get aggravated and keep unfair demands from others. It is important that you understand your responsibility and stay reliable without any fear from any micromanager boss.
-
Get the details beforehand
You have received a project from your boss that happens to be a micromanager personality with minimal information and stringent timelines ….what to do? For any manager, the most important thing is to get the work done on time without errors and delays. To accomplish this expectation you have to stay ahead and get as many details as possible from your boss that you feel would be required or are relevant to the subject. A well-planned approach and an in-depth discussion with the manager would help you avoid any misunderstanding and get a clarification over his expectations. Getting details would reflect your extreme involvement and commitment towards work which can infuse positive energy in other as well as impress the manager.
Plan an appointment with your manager suitable to his schedule, list down all the queries you have related to the project assigned… get your homework done properly by understanding the subject by yourself so that you may not
end up asking silly questions. The relevant queries will reflect your creative thinking as well as your anxiety towards the job assigned.
-
Use your Listening Skills
Have you ever felt that what your boss is telling in a meeting is heard by you many times before also and therefore listening to all that once again makes no sense… well, this means you are making a mistake here. A micromanager boss though being hard at influencing both has enough smartness to understand his audience and the topic he’s presenting his views upon. To win the expectations of your boss you need to sharpen your listening skills; listen to his directions carefully, if you are finding it confusing repeat it once again and ask for feedback for clarification. Make an eye contact with your boss to ensure you are listening to him and is also involved in his discussion, taking notes is the best way to avoid any distraction and having things pen down for future reference. Any distraction on your part would make your boss feel you’re disinterested and he will have reason to point you out.
-
Give Regular Updates
Does it happen to you or your team members often that the first mail that you receive in your mailbox in the morning is usually of your boss? Well, this shows his over-involvement and keen attitude to know what’s going with the task assigned. To deal with such a boss you may need to restructure you’re working methodology whereby you have started providing regular updates by yourself without having any reminders from him. Such an attitude may not only surprise him but also shows huge commitment level coming from you. Imagine the same way as you receive his mail seeking for updates every morning what if he receives regular mail by the end of the day from you. This will not only help you win his confidence by also improves your work performance.
Check with him about his opinion and feedback on a regular basis to help you find his expectations as well as it will save you from any unexpected thing coming from him during the time of review. This will make your work much more transparent and enable your boss to know what you are doing each day, your plans with regards to task accomplishment as well as any minor details that he wishes to attain from you. Making regular updates will also keep you safe as it avoids any deviation that may lead to future problems to your project.
-
Show Empathy
A boss is a human before being a senior having his own fear and weaknesses, he being a boss may not discuss it with his team members but this doesn’t make them elope. As a subordinate, you must try to understand what is important for your boss, what really motivates him or what fears him. Knowing more about him is another step to make good term with him…. Is commanding over others give him a superiority feeling or this is the best way as per him to achieve task on time. Is he an achiever always and therefore he looks for perfection in others or is he a power-hunger who wants his hand in everything to maintain control over people and situation.
You may show empathy towards him, making him feel important by saying things like “I understand how important this project is to the company but without you, it would have been impossible for me to accomplish it”… “I appreciate you to guide me at every step, making the result looks like so positive and as per your expectations”… giving him credit for his inputs will definitely make him feel good and it further raises your impression with him.
-
Speak-up Politely
How do you treat your manager? Have you or your team has ever asked this question to each other…. If no, then this is maybe a right time to understand that not only his tone and attitude towards others are not important but also your own behavior towards your senior is important too. A micromanager boss does carry a reputation of not being people lover due to his dominating attitude but they are near to be perfectionists. Their work and commitment towards achieving organizational goals is commendable as well as demands respects.
It’s not easy being a perfectionist as well as a people lover on the same hand but being a subordinate to such a boss if his team member maintains politeness towards him it can improve the situation in a far more better way. Showing encouragement and support to the micro manager’s strength one can convey his concerns and feelings about the controlled management practice by him. Any hard words or written communication in this regards could hamper your relations with the manager as well as affect the future work prospects.
-
Don’t Revert Micromanagement
If your boss is not good with you that doesn’t mean you have to be like him to take out your aggression. He may have several reasons to behave like that and you should know how it is to work with a perfectionist. If your senior is a micromanager personality and applies control over tasks then this is maybe because he wants things to go as planned and for you, it could be a learning process. There is no tit-for-tat in a working set up, therefore you need to understand the importance of authority and must respect it as it would teach you a lot in life.
There is no revert to micromanagement as it serves no purpose, you may be tempted to make a complaint about the same to your senior most level but doing so is neither advisable not would be of any benefit as it will dimes your reputation in front of the senior. You may think at times that let me report his behavior to a public source anonymously in order to teach him a lesson but doing something like this imagine yourself being in his shoes someday and getting work done as per your guidelines require authoritative attitude.
I’m a big micromanager personality; I’m a stickler about the organization; everything needs a place, a purpose and micromanaging myself even when I’m in the studio.
Management at a senior level may be a tough job to be done looking at a perfectionist approach but there are ways to understand such attitudes well as deal with a micromanager boss without being harassed by him. The approach is considered to be positive as it gets the best out from people in a controlled and stress full situation. A micromanager personality is a person who is committed to his work and knows how to get his job done.
Recommended Articles
Here are some articles that will help you to get more detail about the micromanager boss so just go through the link.
