10 Simple Strategies to Mitigate Micromanagement and Become a More Trusting Leader

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I stared into the steamy mirror with my razor positioned carefully near my cheek. As a baby-faced 19-year-old, I had only shaved a few times before. That’s not what made me nervous, however.

It was the second set of eyes in the mirror staring back at me.

“Well?!” the drill instructor barked into my foamy ear. “Don’t keep me waiting, Poepsel. I’ve got all day to play games with you!”

Marine Corps boot camp is not the place to express one’s independence and autonomy. Every activity—from personal hygiene to meal preparation to weapons assembly—is monitored and swiftly critiqued as needed. This is the epitome of micromanagement.

At that time in my life, I was willing to endure the extra attention so I could a) learn to do things the right way and b) earn the coveted title of U.S. Marine. I was less inclined to tolerate micromanagement in my civilian roles as a software product manager and executive. I now help executive teams and level-down leaders identify destructive and unwanted forms of micromanagement and avoid the devastating effects these have on individuals and organizations. 

In this article, I will:

• Clearly define what constitutes micromanagement (hint: it’s not what you think!).
• Share four workplace trends that make it more dangerous than ever.
• Offer 10 simple strategies to help you navigate micromanagement.

Illustrate where micromanagement shows up in the bigger picture of optimal organizational functioning.

What exactly is micromanagement?

Our good friends over at Gartner define micromanagement as “a pattern of manager behavior marked by excessive supervision and control of employees’ work and processes, as well as limited delegation of tasks or decisions to staff.” At first glance, this definition seems to check the box, but I think it lacks two additional factors: context and consideration.

Context matters because not all workplace interactions are the same. I can think of at least four scenarios when higher levels of supervision or control may be warranted:

1. New hire onboarding. Clearly, when a worker is just getting started, they should expect more attention, direction, and feedback. In fact, many new hires want more guidance than they actually get, since some managers overcorrect so as not to be perceived as micromanagers.
2. High value. Let’s say you regularly make investment decisions valued at $100. On an occasion when you have the opportunity to make a decision valued at $100,000, you should expect more involvement and information gathering from your manager.
3. High stakes. In a similar vein, our autonomy may vary with risk exposure. When I served as a software product executive, I didn’t hesitate to make decisions within our two-week sprint cycles, but I fully expected hands-on involvement from our President when designing our client-facing six-month roadmap.
4. Crisis situation. Things can go sideways in a hurry. When this happens, relatively popular leadership styles that favor participation, collaboration, and autonomy actually underperform an authoritarian leadership style. It may not feel great by comparison, but micromanagement during a crisis is better than well-intentioned mismanagement.

In my view, consideration matters, too. Before we can properly classify a manager’s behavior as micromanagement, we need to get at the why behind it. As we’ll soon see, if their motivation comes from a negative, ego-centric place, this is a significant contributor to micromanagement.

The above may seem like semantics, but without a complete definition of micromanagement, we run the risk of mislabeling nearly any hands-on management approach. A novice worker, for example, may complain to their after-work colleagues about being micromanaged when their situation actually justified a high level of oversight.

Why micromanagement is risky business in our new world of work

Unfortunately, the practice of micromanagement—in its truest sense—is rampant. A survey from Monster found that 73% of workers listed micromanagement as the biggest workplace red flag and a likely contributor to turnover. This result was even higher than “meetings that could have been an email” and a “lack of flexible work hours.”

Worse yet, in a recent study, researchers observed that “the significant majority (91%) of micromanagers are oblivious to the fact that their employees have actually resigned as a result of their leadership style.” Yikes!

Micromanagement has always been worrisome in the workplace. Even so, four current trends are upping the stakes by making it more prevalent and more risky at the same time:

1. Macroeconomic pressures. When inflation crept higher and the economy adjusted in 2022, organizations of all types shifted from growth at all costs to efficient growth. In the process, nearly all curtailed spending and many shed workers to shrink payroll. These collective actions continue to stoke fear in managers, and fear is the breeding ground for micromanagement.
2. Generational drift. Each successive generation seeks more autonomy earlier in their careers than prior generations. Millennial and Gen Z workers have been no different. This means that a more tenured manager’s perceptions of what constitutes micromanagement may be quite different from those of younger workers.
3. Out of sight. Remote work exploded during the pandemic, and fully remote and hybrid formats remain a reality for many organizations. While workers rushed to embrace remote work, management methods haven’t exactly kept pace. This has led many executives and managers to distrust remote worker productivity and even their integrity. This may sound ugly, but it’s true. It’s little wonder that according to Statista, 64% of U.S. remote workers have felt micromanaged.
4. Hyper-measurement. An accelerated pace of information technology capabilities and adoption means we can now measure and analyze metrics at a dizzying scale. Even disciplinary interventions are being automated. In an article by The Guardian, Seema N. Patel of Stanford’s Law School observed that new tech “enables employers to control, record, monitor and use that data to discipline hundreds of thousands of workers in a way that no human manager or group of managers could even do.”

Left unchecked, my bet is that we’re likely to see the malpractice of micromanagement increase.

The (broken) heart of the matter

Micromanagement manifests in a number of ways, including:

• Unwillingness to delegate decisions and tasks
• Heavy critique around what amounts to personal preference rather than task or job requirement
• Demanding real-time updates and transparency for activities, and not just material status changes
• Inserting oneself late in the process and in such a way that requires expensive and frustrating rework by grumbling team members

A deep psychology often lies beneath these practices. According to Dr. Melissa A. Wheeler, “A manager's insecurity, self-doubt, and lack of confidence can obstruct their ability to delegate effectively or to trust their team's capabilities.”

When a manager is driven by fear—either consciously or unconsciously—micromanagement can be the result. They may fear having their professional reputation besmirched by poor quality or a missed deadline. They may fear not appearing to be a strong and proactive leader to their boss or peers. Worst of all, they may fear not experiencing the personal reassurance and ego boost that comes with their boorish behavior. Fear destroys everything good in relationships and in organizations.

The consequences of micromanagement can be devastating:

• Reduction in psychological safety
• Erosion of interpersonal trust
• Worker withdrawal and disengagement
• Resulting lack of accountability for mistakes and missed opportunities
• Stunted professional growth and development of team members
• Displacement of cultural values and coherence 
• Burnout and mental health challenges
• Employee turnover
• Escalating recruitment and training costs

A return to optimal outcomes

When I helped create the Talent Optimization discipline in 2018, we began with the end in mind. We identified the “optimal outcomes” that a more effective leadership approach intended to produce. Today, when I’m delivering talks or consulting on various talent issues, I frame these optimal outcomes as four non-negotiables for leaders at every level:

We can use these outcomes as lenses to view our current topic of micromanagement:

• Results - Micromanagement hurts collaboration and innovation while creating rework and a lack of accountability.
• Engagement - Micromanagement zaps a worker’s discretionary effort and their overall commitment to the role, team, and organization.
• Well-being - Micromanagement creates chronic stress and frustration, which can lead to prolonged work absences and escalating healthcare and human costs.
• Growth - Micromanagement robs workers of their ability to develop new skills and capabilities that will serve the future organization.

Here’s the bottom line:

Micromanagers project their fears and anxieties onto our work experiences. Being unwilling to do their own inner work, they pollute our day-to-day tasks instead.

Under the thumb of a micromanager, an otherwise promising worker will likely experience a steady downward spiral. What begins as mild frustration can quickly turn to deep dissatisfaction, withdrawal, depression, anger, and ultimately, departure.

10 Simple Strategies to Mitigate Micromanagement

Now that we have a solid understanding of micromanagement's origin story well in hand, it’s time to take action. Here are several simple strategies grouped by type.

How to coach yourself out of micromanagement

1. Raise self-awareness. Take time to reflect on your own micromanagement tendencies. Are there specific situations when this is most likely? With certain individuals? What would have to be true for you to resist becoming a micromanager? Are all of these factors external, or are some in your direct control? Positive change always begins with self-awareness.

2. Establish clarity. If you find yourself dissatisfied with your workers’ effort and results, begin with the documentation. Review the explicit instructions they received to ensure these are up-to-date and reflect your desired methods. In many cases, a lack of clarity is the root cause of ineffective action and decision-making. As leaders, we have to do our part before we ask others to do theirs.

3. Emphasize outcomes over efforts. It took some time, but I eventually settled into a management style that worked best for me. Now I “draw a box” for my team members by clearly outlining the boundaries of scope, permissions, and outcomes. I then explain that how they fill the box is up to them, and that they should consider me a partner and coach to help them do that. Strike a similar balance by focusing more on the results and less on how they are delivered.

How to coach someone else out of micromanagement:

4. Clarify expectations. When you see signs of micromanagement, it’s important to have a courageous conversation. Let the micromanager know that you value worker autonomy and initiative over task-centric compliance. You can celebrate the manager’s commitment to high levels of productivity and quality outcomes, but don’t lose the message that their approach must change.

5. Highlight the consequences. Micromanagement can amount to a clash in personal values. A manager may overemphasize their view of their behaviors while overlooking the potential consequences resulting from their choices. Share examples of directly observed behaviors, poor engagement surveys, exit interviews, and other warning signs to illustrate the organizational and professional ramifications of micromanagement.

6. Invest in leadership development. Many micromanagers were simply never taught how to become effective leaders. Too often, we promote our top performers into management roles and expect them to automatically be great leaders. Instead, give your managers the training, templates, and tools they need to demonstrate optimal leadership behaviors.

What to do if you’re being micromanaged:

7. Be proactive and transparent. A lack of trust is a common contributor to micromanagement. For many managers, not knowing important information or task status hurts trust. Rather than wait to be asked for an update, find an agreeable way to provide this information proactively. A little early information can go a long way. Use collaboration tools to show your work, and ensure your manager knows how they can check in on your progress as needed.

8. Ask for professional development. One of the chief reasons managers overstep is because of a lack of training or experience on the part of their direct reports. If you don’t have a strong background in project management, for example, you may notice that your manager is more hands-on in this area than other parts of your role. Rather than becoming defensive, look for the growth opportunity. Make the suggestion that you could take advantage of organization-sponsored or external training opportunities to strengthen this area of your work.

9. Open the door. Recall that the vast majority of micromanagers are unaware of their behavior and how it’s impacting those around them. Find a diplomatic and professional way to start the conversation. Offer specific examples of micromanagement behaviors, and illustrate their effect on your performance and engagement. Be empathetic (being a manager is not easy) but also be sure to advocate for yourself. Seek coaching from a mentor, and practice the conversation beforehand if needed.

Bonus Strategy:

10. Use psychometric assessments. A behavioral assessment like that from The Predictive Index can highlight various traits related to micromanagement. Our individual motivators and behavioral preferences tell us a lot about how we approach our work and how we expect others to approach theirs—even though their preferences may be quite different from ours.

Here are some specific applications of the PI platform that can help minimize the potential effects of micromanagement.

PI Hire

One of the earlier studies I cited went on to advise that “the hiring process should include psychometric testing as a means of predicting counterproductive behaviors within the selection process.” By understanding a candidate’s behavioral preferences with PI Hire, you can use a customized interview guide to determine whether they’ve demonstrated experience accommodating their behavioral needs without resorting to micromanagement.

PI Inspire

Peer relationships are critically important, and the Relationship Guide in PI Inspire offers an excellent side-by-side comparison of behavioral similarities and differences. Use the conversation starters to explore potential and active micromanagement friction points as needed.

PI Perform

As a busy leader, you need an efficient way to get the day-to-day work done, but also to provide the critical and constructive coaching your team members crave. The workspace and feedback tools in PI Perform streamline 1:1 and group meetings as well as the coaching process. They’re even integrated with Google and Microsoft calendars, Zoom, Slack, and MS Teams!

Micromanagement in the big picture

Organizations are complex. To orient ourselves, let’s have a look at a new framework I’ve developed to show how organizations evolve and where they tend to get stuck:

So where does micromanagement show up in my PROOF framework?

Micromanagement creates a barrier at Level I as it disrupts transactional day-to-day work. It prevents later-stage processes from operating efficiently, stifles organizational harmony, and disengages workers. When we tolerate micromanagement in our leaders, we allow self-limiting behaviors to prevent us from progressing to higher levels of organizational and individual functioning and value creation.

Fortunately, the antithesis of micromanagement—delegation and agency—can fuel our organization’s progress and our growth. This type of evolved leadership restores the natural flow of energy and boosts organizational and worker vitality.

If we’re willing to collectively turn away from the dark fears that fuel micromanagement, we will find ourselves looking toward the bright promise of our human potential at work.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this first installment of my monthly newsletter! I look forward to bringing you fresh insights from the worlds of organizational science, advanced leadership practice, and beyond.

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