Supportive and concerned manager

One person's micromanagement is another person's supportive and concerned manager. One person's concerned and supportive manager is another person's over-bearing, overly-controlling manager.
be well,
Dwika-ExecuTrain


"Micromanagement seems to be everywhere!"
by: Steven Cerri
(10 minute read)

Did you every purchase a new car and all of a sudden you see your make, model, and color car on the road everywhere. Now that you have one, it seems so does everyone else.

Well, the same phenomenon has occurred with me and the topic of "micromanagement". Now that I've completed my 3-CD set titled "Succeeding Without Micromanagement", it seems that everyone I talk to is complaining about being micromanaged or is concerned about being perceived as a micromanager.

So since it seems like such a common phenomenon, I'm going to devote this issue to micromanagement and I'm going to give you some concrete ways to avoid it.

Let's begin with a discussion of what micromanagement looks like, The primary questions are; "How do you know when you are micromanaged?" What's the evidence in your mind that you are being micromanaged?"

1. Is it because your manager calls you every day?
2. Is it because you manager calls you three times a day?
3. Is it that your manager wants to know at 8 in the morning what you intend to accomplish by the end of the day, and at the end of the day wants to know what you did accomplish?
4. Is it that your manager wants a weekly status report by close of business on Friday for the previous week?
5. Is it that your manager wants a plan, schedule, and budget before your begin your project.
6. Is it that your manager wants a monthly status meeting regarding your progress?

What is clear in my mind is that micromanagement is always very, very personal. What sets off your button regarding micromanagement may not set off mine, or may not set of the other people on your team.

Micromanagement is personal.
That's the first principle I want to convey. Micromanagement is very personal it is not the same for everyone.

In fact, I coach direct reports and managers who are upset that their managers don't manage them "close enough or often enough". They are actually complaining to me that they are not be managed ENOUGH!

So it's very important to get clear that....

One person's micromanagement is another person's supportive and concerned manager. One person's concerned and supportive manager is another person's over-bearing, overly-controlling manager.

Therefore, micromanagement doesn't have a "general" or "universal" definition. It doesn't have a baseline behavior that defines it. So if you are going to talk about it, be clear about exactly what you mean.

This leads us to the very critical point. This is the biggest fact about micromanagement... micromanagement is all about the structure of the relationship between the direct report and the manager. That is the key. Micromanagement is in the relationship.

If you are a manager and you want to avoid being a micromanager, then you must structure a manager-direct report relationship that is the right mix of management and freedom based on you, the manager, the direct report, and the situation.

And here is the "kicker".... very often when I'm coaching engineers and technical professionals who think they are being managed too closely, I will actually coach them to give the manager what the manager wants.

The first response from the engineer is that I must be crazy. "How can giving my manager what he or she wants, all this information and reporting, get me the autonomy and freedom I seek?" That's what they usually say.

My response to that question is always the same and here it is:

I believe people are always doing the best they can. They are always attempting to do what they think is the right behavior for the situation even if you don't think so. Therefore, my approach is to assume the manager has a good intention. I don't automatically assume that the manager is a vindictive, control freak.

In fact, if we can find that "good intention" that is motivating the manager, we might be able to find a way to provide the manager with what he or she wants AND provide the engineer/direct report with the freedom and independence that he or she wants. We just might be able to find a win-win scenario.

Case in point. I'm going to share with you a case of a direct report that I coached through a difficult situation. This direct report works for a small business and has been managed relatively closely by his manager for some time. He has felt micromanaged and he complained to me that he wanted to be managed less closely. He wanted more autonomy and freedom than his manager was willing to give him and the more he attempted to get autonomy the more his manager tightened her grip and made his reporting even more onerous.

My first coaching point with this direct report was that the manager was doing this for some reason, probably legitimate in the manager's mind. So that is where we started. The direct report's task was to give the manager what she was asking for without fighting over it.

At first the direct report didn't understand how this was going to get him the autonomy he wanted. But he agreed to follow my suggestions and instructions.

He began to provide reports on the status of his tasks as the manager requested. He even suggested ways to improve the status reports.

I suggested other forms he could use to transmit data regarding the status of his tasks and projects. The manager appreciated these efforts on the part of the direct report.

After several months of this support for the manager, which by the way, turned out not to be very difficult or imposing on the direct report, the manager began to give the direct report more autonomy.

The outcome is that now the direct report and the manager have become much more of a team. The direct report is still providing the manager with the project reports but the format is streamlined and easy and doesn't take much time at all. The manager is so comfortable with the relationship that she has actually begun to manage him less closely. She actually gave him the autonomy he was originally seeking.

The direct report recently asked me, "So what happened here? How did this actually occur?"

My response was, "By giving your manager what she asked for and seeming to give up your drive for autonomy, you actually allowed the manager to be so comfortable with the communication between the two of you that she was willing to give you the autonomy you originally asked for."

By enhancing the relationship, the direct report actually reduced the level of micromanagement the manager thought she needed to feel comfortable. By "giving up the drive for autonomy, and by enhancing the manager/direct-report relationship, the direct report actually got more autonomy."

So the bottom line is that, in my experience, micromanagement is not something anyone has to live with. Engineers, scientists, and direct reports don't have to tolerate micromanagement if they understand how to set up the relationship with their manger. And managers don't have to worry about being perceived as micromanagers if they understand how to set up the relationship with their direct reports.

In my experience, micromanagement it's just not a big deal. That's why you'll often hear me say, "micromanagement doesn't really exist".

Be well,

Steven