I recently came across this question by a user on an online forum:
My manager is the most micromanaging manager in the world. I love my work and the company, any advice on how to deal with him?
The answers were both amazing and hilarious. The one that stood out to me was:
“Micro report till he gets a headache” 🙂
This comment particularly received a lot of support and commentary. And it makes sense. If you have a manager who derives satisfaction out of having control over every little detail, you learn to provide the detail..and some more.
The reverse is also true. There are some managers who are fed up of their employees reporting unimportant or inconsequential details of their work/ interpersonal issues to them.
At the foundation of both of these extremes is a gap. A gap in communication that is widened every time one of the parties tries to solve the issue with a temporary fix. Here are some common temporary fixes we apply to mask the real issues:
- Just giving them what they need
- Just letting them vent
- Just being patient so as to avoid a confrontation
- Writing a passive-aggressive email hoping they will get the hint
All of these coping mechanisms make the problem worse in the long term. Often resulting in a sour relationships, frustration, anger and ultimately quitting.
So as a leader, start recognizing signs of micro-reporting.
Even if you are not a micro-manager, don’t accept behaviors of micro reporting. Instead demand Autonomy.
So many leaders underestimate the power of Autonomy. It is one of the foundations of human motivation at work. In his Motivation 2.0 model, Daniel Pink highlights Purpose, Autonomy and Mastery as the pillars of motivation at work.
Micro managing not only reduces autonomy, it sucks the life out of the desire for “Mastery”, which all of us are wired for.
So here are 3 dialogues to promote Autonomy in your team:
The Setup Dialogue:
This is really to answer if you are setting people up for success. Do they have what they need to achieve the goal at hand. Everything: Skills, attitude, time, resources, access. Think of these proactively and set them up for Autonomy,
The Pre-Feedback Dialogue:
When will you give feedback, when should they seek feedback and how will you feedback. It’s a highly effective dialogue, will take no more than an hour but will save you countless hours in the future. Make that investment.
The Boundaries dialogue:
You should define boundaries for intervention, help and follow-ups. This means talking about when can they expect a follow-up, what cadence of reporting do you expect etc.
If you have these dialogues proactively, you will avoid the discomfort/awkwardness of having these conversations in reaction to failure.
Set yourself up for success and your people up for Autonomy. You will see the threefold result of higher quality (Mastery), dedication (Purpose) and of course, no more Micro reporting.
Not sure where to start?
Check out my Dialogue Assessment to understand your team’s challenges better and find solutions: https://thirdlooplearning.com/assessment/
You can also schedule a preliminary consultation call to explore if I can help you:
