February 4, 2013 at 8:33 am
hakim.ali (2/4/2013)
Peter Trevor (2/4/2013)
Many years ago I was in a team that had a manager who was prone to micro-manage. Usually we factored that in to our estimates but I remember once, when we were all under a tight deadline: We knew this guy had a thing about the smell of garlic, so at lunchtime we all bought Chicken Kiev and chips from a local vendor to eat at our desks. This was not planned in advance, there was no conspiracy, we all just happened to choose the same meal option. And as the aroma of garlic filled the open plan office, the manager was strangely absent for the rest of the day. We made the deadline.Where's the 'Like' button on this page? 🙂
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February 4, 2013 at 8:50 am
DavidL (2/4/2013)
hakim.ali (2/4/2013)
Peter Trevor (2/4/2013)
Many years ago I was in a team that had a manager who was prone to micro-manage. Usually we factored that in to our estimates but I remember once, when we were all under a tight deadline: We knew this guy had a thing about the smell of garlic, so at lunchtime we all bought Chicken Kiev and chips from a local vendor to eat at our desks. This was not planned in advance, there was no conspiracy, we all just happened to choose the same meal option. And as the aroma of garlic filled the open plan office, the manager was strangely absent for the rest of the day. We made the deadline.Where's the 'Like' button on this page? 🙂
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February 4, 2013 at 8:52 am
Julie Breutzmann (2/4/2013)
DavidL (2/4/2013)
hakim.ali (2/4/2013)
Peter Trevor (2/4/2013)
Many years ago I was in a team that had a manager who was prone to micro-manage. Usually we factored that in to our estimates but I remember once, when we were all under a tight deadline: We knew this guy had a thing about the smell of garlic, so at lunchtime we all bought Chicken Kiev and chips from a local vendor to eat at our desks. This was not planned in advance, there was no conspiracy, we all just happened to choose the same meal option. And as the aroma of garlic filled the open plan office, the manager was strangely absent for the rest of the day. We made the deadline.Where's the 'Like' button on this page? 🙂
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Calm down folks otherwise it will cause an overflow error 😉
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
February 4, 2013 at 9:36 am
I have been there and have lived through it. It was part of the "proving myself" phase of the career and has not been a problem for decades. I think I finally came to understand how it really works.
Managers have learn quickly that things get done, they get done right, and they get done as quickly as I can make them happen. It is an issue of trust.
If they want to micromanage something that is fine, they are the manager. I know that certain things make managers uncomfortable, and they need those things to get done. Since that is the case, they are welcome to have meetings, visit me at the workstation, ask questions, email whatever. It is also their work, and their reputation on the line. We work together. They manage and I do the task. That is how it works.
I have to understand that certain things are important and managers will manage, and some will micromanage. It is something that comes with the job.
Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!
February 4, 2013 at 10:35 am
I read this piece on micro-managers once and always thought that it was spot on. Read on:
"A micromanager is one of the most frustrating and demoralizing forces in the workplace. He/she has to make all the decisions, set all the priorities, and do all the talking. He/she has to sign off on every document and communication emanating from his/her team and has to attend every meeting that anyone on his/her team attends. He/she makes sure the spotlight is always on him/her and is quick to accept credit for team accomplishments. He/she is just as quick to assign blame to some individual on his team when something doesn’t go exactly right. He/she wastes valuable time on activities that others can handle without him, while many of his/her real responsibilities get shortchanged.
One of the micromanager’s main concerns is self-promotion. Somewhere in his/her past, he/she was woefully misinformed that a management role was an opportunity to gain personal recognition for work done by others. To justify this recognition, he/she supervises work needlessly or invades meetings where he/she isn’t needed, all to put his/her thumbprint somewhere on the project."
Personally, I have both worked with and for a few of these type of people in the past and I will bet that a lot of people here can name at least one person like this as well. Micromanagers most fear losing control, so they over compensate by contolling everyone and everything little thing in their department. Control is an illusion. The more you think you are in control, you eventually seem to find out how much is actually not in your control.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
February 4, 2013 at 10:43 am
TravisDBA (2/4/2013)
...He/she makes sure the spotlight is always on him/her and is quick to accept credit for team accomplishments. He/she is just as quick to assign blame to some individual on his team when something doesn’t go exactly right.
...
One of the micromanager’s main concerns is self-promotion.
...
I have worked for a few of these people in the past
Spot on, very well put. Unfortunately, so have I...
Hakim Ali
www.sqlzen.com
February 4, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Great comments on this thread. I have had clients who put my desk right in front of theirs so they could watch what I do over my shoulder. That does not bother me in the least. In such a case, I take the task list, put my headphones on, and proceed to overload them with completed work. Pretty soon, they can't have me out of their offices fast enough.
February 4, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (2/4/2013)
Good one. I've tried to be a gopher when I was a manager. Asking people what they need and getting it for them, including shoo-ing off other managers or directors.
That's not being a gopher, that's being a producer.
February 4, 2013 at 3:57 pm
GeorgeCopeland (2/4/2013)
Great comments on this thread. I have had clients who put my desk right in front of theirs so they could watch what I do over my shoulder. That does not bother me in the least. In such a case, I take the task list, put my headphones on, and proceed to overload them with completed work. Pretty soon, they can't have me out of their offices fast enough.
Excellent George, just excellent.
One thing I thought about adding earlier is that the one way to break a micromanager is to overload them with things to manage. If I just do what is requested and then go ask what is next, and ask again every time till the list is exhausted, while the entire time you keep asking about things on their plate and needs you will have if they want to know certain things the load becomes too large for them to manage. You can expedite this by asking for work at the very granular level. And also as you produce the required results the trust builds, and since they are getting overworked the first ones they will let loose are those who are producing and can be trusted.
And I also wear headphones most of the time. Works great!
Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!
February 4, 2013 at 5:55 pm
The micro-managers I've had are not technical people and have MBA's. They are looking for a way to justify their degrees and think the walls will fall down without them. There is a issue of trust here, and the more they learn how much they don't know, the more they may be willing to trust the employee. But those that are out for themselves, anything goes.
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February 5, 2013 at 1:30 pm
I had a micromanager at my last job, but the thing was she couldn't decide what she wanted done when and she often contradicted herself. As others have indicated, she had her own issues be it with self confidence, insecurity, self respect... who knows. One day maybe she'll quit flaunting her PMP and actually become a mediocre middle manager.
February 6, 2013 at 3:55 am
I've had managers ask for "Everything, Now" in the past. I keep a written list of all my tasks, and if it gets too much just ask "Which are your top 3 for me to work on, and in which order?"
Once armed with this, the next thing that I am asked to do "As top priority" I can point to the list and say "Just tell me which of my top 3 it replaces and I'll get to it." They then have to decide if it is more important than the other important things.
I'm now left alone to manage my own workload. 😎
February 6, 2013 at 9:03 am
Alex Gay (2/6/2013)
I've had managers ask for "Everything, Now" in the past. I keep a written list of all my tasks, and if it gets too much just ask "Which are your top 3 for me to work on, and in which order?"Once armed with this, the next thing that I am asked to do "As top priority" I can point to the list and say "Just tell me which of my top 3 it replaces and I'll get to it." They then have to decide if it is more important than the other important things.
I'm now left alone to manage my own workload. 😎
Alex, I absolutely agree with you in theory. However, alot of managers (particularly micromanagers) tend to work in what I call "firehose" mode or "crisis management" mode. Your top 3 change daily and those tend to be verbal only. These type of managers don't like an email trail that demonstrates they don't have a good handle on their priorities. What they should be saying to you in reality is "This is your Top 3 for Tuesday, tomorrow, who knows?" Believe me, been there done that. Working for a micromanager can one of the most frustrating and demoralizing forces in the workplace., They tend to remind me of a person whose car is stuck in the mud. They spin their wheels like crazy producing all kinds of smoke and mess for everyone around them, but they don't really go anywhere. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
February 6, 2013 at 9:56 am
I still maintain the email communication especially if it is one way. Confirming changes in priorities has saved my bacon more than a couple of times.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
February 6, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Alex Gay (2/6/2013)
I've had managers ask for "Everything, Now" in the past. I keep a written list of all my tasks, and if it gets too much just ask "Which are your top 3 for me to work on, and in which order?"Once armed with this, the next thing that I am asked to do "As top priority" I can point to the list and say "Just tell me which of my top 3 it replaces and I'll get to it." They then have to decide if it is more important than the other important things.
I'm now left alone to manage my own workload. 😎
I had one boss who when I asked for priorities on several projects all for different clients gave me the answer, "Just do them all". Thanks, I was already planning on doing them all, but they can't all be done at once.
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