Bosses Behaving Badly: What to Do With the Micromanager Boss

For Christian Working Women, Strategies for Professional Success
September 6, 2016
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18 Comments

As Christian women, we find a lot of advice on how to excel in ministry – you know, the kind of ministry in church, or maybe with our family or communities. Maybe even in entrepreneurial endeavors. But what I’ve found by experience is that many women are called to ministry in today’s workforce – specifically in the business arena. I know there are many opinions about women in business or even in the workforce, but when you look at the example of Deborah the judge, it’s easy to see that women absolutely can have an effective ministry in today’s workplace. So I wanted to start a blog series on one of the most important aspects of your success in the workplace: your relationship with your boss. In this part of the series, I wanted to share what to do with the micromanager boss.

I also wanted to offer lessons learned as a Christian, because when people know you are a Christian in the workplace, they judge you with a much harsher standard. Also, if you don’t know what the Bible says about dealing with superiors or difficult people, you may believe that you have to take whatever they dish or you may wind up making the situation worse.

So why is micromanaging a problem? For a few reasons: it’s counterproductive, it cultivates barriers in professional relationships, and it degrades morale. Think back to the last time you were in a group with equally talented, smart and good people and one person insisted on controlling all of the group’s efforts and outcomes. Think about what each member’s response was like to that person. It was a mixture of anger and resentment, wasn’t it? Bingo! How’d I know? Because talented, smart and good people do not like being controlled. It sends a patronizing message where the boss (or whoever appointed themselves as the boss) is saying “I don’t trust you. Your work isn’t good enough. I’m the smartest/most talented/only competent one in this bunch.” And here are some other behaviors that make you want to take up boxing as a stress reliever: constant reminders, taskings with no deadlines but constant demands for updates, questioning your every move, saying “that’s not how I would have done it” (even though your way got the job done quite well), and constant over-communication. At the root of it is the fear that your failure will tarnish the reputation or station they’ve worked so hard for. So rather than develop the ability to hold people accountable for not making the real cut, they micromanage.

But don’t fear, I’m about to show you what to do with the micromanager boss.

1. Make sure it’s not you: I’ll admit it. I’ve micromanaged people before. But it was because they were incompetent and they didn’t care how that incompetence affected anyone else. And I had a lot to lose if they failed. Add to that, they didn’t care that I had a lot to lose. I’ve also micromanaged those who were new to the job and wanted to LEARN. But really, that’s not micromanagement, it’s training and mentorship if you back off once that person develops. But going back to those who are incompetent and for whatever reason can’t or won’t improve to perform satisfactorily…a boss who micromanages a person like that isn’t really a micromanager. They’re being competent. And if you’re the incompetent one, take notes – lots of notes – on what you need to improve.

2. Notice who else they “micromanage”: This goes back to #1. If the number of people they micromanage is small relative to the number of people on your entire team (think micromanaging 3 people out of 20), and you’re one of those people, it could be you. BUT, if they micromanage EVERYBODY it’s your boss who has the problem.

3. Get everything in writing: With micromanagers, this usually isn’t hard. Not only do they need 2-hour or longer meetings to discuss items that are important to them, they often put all those details in e-mails and other forms of written communication. It’s because the name of their game is “where to put the blame” if things go sideways or just not according to their plan. And as long as they can prove that they have done everything in their power to properly “lead” you but you still failed, they can cover their behind and save their reputation. This is smart in theory because again, if you’re not a micromanager and you’re working with someone who is incompetent or just doesn’t care, you’ll need proof that you’ve done everything to work with this person. But this is a tactic that micromanagers use to help cover up the fact that they really don’t know how to do a job without micromanaging. This can work in your favor as long as you also document the satisfactory steps you’ve taken to tackle these assignments. Preferably in a way where the micromanager can see it (think e-mail). This is important and you do not want to miss this. Trust me…you cannot keep up with and properly manage a micromanager without written task logs.

4. Find out what the real concern is: Here are some common phrases micromanagers will tell you to mask their real concern…”You don’t do things the way I do things”…”I need to be included on all correspondence”…”I need to know everything that goes on”…and my personal favorite “I just want to be a part of the team”. But you have to develop the skill of getting to the root of the problem. So ask them questions like “Would you be open to allowing me to give you udpates as I actually make progress rather than including you on all correspondence?” If they say no, ask them why and open the lines of communication. What they will most likely reveal is their need to control you, everyone else and everything that goes on under their scope of responsibility. If their concern is control and not your performance, you may have an opportunity to show them how doing the tasks they’re asking you to do have actually slowed you down or detracted from your productivity. Show them how you still got the job done without doing their way and keep showing them. Even if they don’t agree, you can’t argue with results.

5. Be the leader: Here’s a very interesting observation I’ve made. Most micromanagers are poor leaders. Why? Because one of the key characteristics of a true leader is that that person can walk away from a job and their team will stay afloat. They’ll want their leader back ASAP, but they’ll be able to float without them. Micromanagers on the other hand, seek control even at the expense of their employees’ growth and development. What’s also ironic is that they jeopardize the success of their own operation by insisting that they control every aspect of it. You simply don’t have time to manage every aspect of your operation and do the work it takes to improve it. What that means for you is that you have windows of opportunity to lead while your boss is micromanaging. You do this by coming up with solutions to problems and presenting them with well thought out plans and systems. Once you do this enough and actually improve processes, you’re the leader. Still respect your boss’s position, but keep aiming high.