Ah yes. The 600 lb (maybe 800 lb since this is something everyone has experienced) gorilla in the room. The micromanager.
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
-Teddy Roosevelt
My Story
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve only worked for a micromanager one time. I voluntarily left a job without a job to go to, in other words, I didn’t move on to something else, also one time. They were the same time. I left because I couldn’t take it any more.
I was Director of a large, comprehensive department with a multi-million dollar budget. We had a lot going on. I reported to someone who had been the acting director of that department until I was hired (in hindsight a big red flag, as he never let go of that acting director title, but that’s in hindsight). He had been in the new position for a year or so, but had been with the city his entire career. I could share dozens of micromanagement examples, but I think the following explains in a nutshell the type of cowardly leader this guy was, and likely still is.
If you’ve been reading these blogs, by now you have concluded that I can either write or I can’t. I have a basic, general command of the English language or I don’t. Anyway, I had my first annual evaluation with Mr. Micromanager. Over a decade later, I remember what he wrote in the comments section. I still have that evaluation-the only one I’ve ever kept. I have it as a reminder to me to never be that guy.
The comment said:
“As we have discussed (note: we had never ‘discussed’ anything, I had been ordered), you will forward all correspondence, emails and memos to me for approval for distribution.”
There was more, about how I needed to communicate better, etc. But I burned that to memory. Think about that. This guy had other departments besides mine to supervise. He had a ton of stuff to deal with. But he was going to make sure that my emails were correct.
A High Schooler Could Do It
I was also required to report any communication to and from a city councilman to him and to get permission from him before responding. I had to get permission from him before speaking to the Finance Director about our budget. There is more but you get the idea.
Once, I violated the Chain-of-Command and made an appointment to talk to his boss. I said, “You don’t need me. A high schooler could do this job. Every single decision has to be approved. You’re wasting money having me here when you could have an entry level person doing this.” He said he understood the frustration. I always took that to mean he agreed but couldn’t do anything about it.
So after a couple of years and a meeting with Mr. Micromanager that….well, didn’t go well….I resigned. No job to go to, but I knew it wouldn’t get any better, and I’d go crazy if I stayed. He ran that department and was going to run it whether or not I was there.
Insecurity
As with most things Cowardly Leadership-ish, the micromanager operates from a position of insecurity. A lack of insecurity in their own managerial and leadership ability, and a fear that subordinates may become more powerful or more influential, thus requiring the insecure manager to micro-manage.
Dr. Richard White, Professor at LSU’s Public Administration Institute, wrote in Public Personnel Management: “Micromanagers are control freaks. Type A personalities are the most likely culprits, as they are fundamentally insecure and afraid to trust the performance of those below them.”
Debate or Disloyalty?
Dr. Lindren Greer, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Business School, says, “Debate and dissent are essential to reaching any thoughtful outcome.”
However, micromanagers view dissension as disloyalty. Disagreeing or offering alternative courses of action challenge the power and authority of a cowardly leader.
I have mentioned before that there are three lines I will never cross: I will never lie to my employees, my boss, or the news media. Mr. Micromanager tested me when he ordered me to lie to the newspaper covering a city council work session on the budget. Apparently some numbers we had submitted had been jumbled somewhere between the Finance Office and his office, and he ordered me to lie to the reporter covering the city council meeting and say we (my department and my budget director) had made the mistake at our level, thus excusing any explanation that would have to be made to the City Council at his level. I refused. That was treated as insubordination and disloyalty.
The cowardly leader, as Simon Sinek states, “sacrifices others for his own personal gain.”
Effects
An earlier blog discussed Abdication of Authority (HERE), and how cowardly leaders abdicate their duty by turning it over to someone else. As with most things in life, any extreme is unsatisfactory. Micromanagement is the antithesis of abdication. Instead of turning their back on authority, a micromanager cannot let go. He cannot delegate, cannot set goals, objectives and performance standards and let his people work to accomplish them. He second- guesses, continually oversees, needs reassurance through multiple meetings and status reports.
The effect on any employee with any degree of knowledge, skill, enthusiasm and ability is apparent to anyone: loss of that enthusiasm, decreased passion, increased stress, frustration, loss of confidence, and an increased self-doubt.
It doesn’t get much worse than working for a micromanager.
II-12
