6 Tips to Deal with a Micromanager Boss

While being more involved might make boss’s feel more in charge, sooner or later, there direct reports will start to feel undermined, resentful, and untrustworthy. This would affect productivity and employee morale.

Here are few effective ways of dealing with a micromanaging boss

• Ask for what you need – Being direct is the best approach. Ask what you can do to better address your manager’s expectations of you. Share that you are most productive when you are given the time and autonomy to work. Proactively schedule weekly catch up calls.
• Try to understand your manager’s perspective – Try and understand the needs behind the micromanager tendencies of your boss by getting as much information about his/her perspective as you can. You could ask questions like – what are your main objectives with regard to this project? How often do you want to be informed?
• Have a productive conversation with your boss – Do this by identifying specific behaviors without judging or labeling. Share with your manager what those behaviors lead you to think about him or her, yourself and other factors concerning the boss-subordinate dynamic. Focus on behaviour and impact, never use the word micromanaging.
• Do a root cause analysis – If you think you are being micromanaged then you need to find the root cause. Start by asking questions like are you managing to meet your deliverables in a timely manner? Are your boss’s expectations of you realistic? Is there a cultural fit issue?
• Try your best to align with the manager’s expectations – Most micromanagers have control and trust issues. Identify what is important to them, understand how often they need information, when you develop more trust they are more likely to relax their need for control.
• Make your point with a smile – Micromanagers usually dislike being identified as one, so the easiest way to remedy this is by meeting in private with a confrontational approach and ask your manager do you trust me? I ask this since you keep asking minute details of how I work. I am sure you are pressed for time as you have greater responsibilities at hand!