Three tips for dealing with a micromanaging boss

Do you feel like your boss is constantly breathing down your neck and that everything you do is being scrutinized? Sounds like your boss is a micromanager. Working for a micromanager can be extremely stressful and annoying, but sadly, many bosses share this trait. Here are three things you can try to keep your boss out of your hair:

1. Provide frequent status updates. If your boss is a micromanager, it’s likely because he’s worried that the work isn’t going to get done correctly or on deadline. If you’re a good employee, he should start to trust you more over time, but that doesn't mean he will leave you alone completely. Get in the habit of providing frequent status updates that let him know what you’re doing with your time (this is especially important if you work from home). If you can stay one step ahead of your boss, you can circumvent his need to pester you at inopportune moments. Some pestering is inevitable though, so be sure you’re always on top of the status of every project and prepared with an answer at the drop of a hat. And try not to get too frustrated by your boss’s questions. Sometimes your boss’s meddling in projects can be beneficial -- it gives him the opportunity to correct mistakes or request changes at an earlier stage, preventing you from having to redo work later on.
   

1. Know what information to keep to yourself. Even though your boss seems to want to know EVERYTHING you do on a given day and how you approach projects, sometimes it’s best if he doesn’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Too much transparency could lead your boss to question your process. Everyone’s work style is different, but micromanagers sometimes have a hard time seeing this -- they think their way is best, and they often focus too much on process over results. So if you reveal too much about your personal process, your boss might try to impose new methods of working that make you less efficient. Avoiding this problem comes down to being resourceful -- you should make it appear like things get done magically with little effort. Whatever it takes to get there can be your little secret. For example, perhaps you like to create charts to track the status of projects, but they’re full of little notes and reminders that might look unsettling to an outsider. Keep that chart to yourself, and share a whittled down version of the information that tells your boss exactly what he wants to know and nothing more. Of course, if you’re running into issues, you should ask your boss for help. Don’t miss a deadline or do work incorrectly because you want to hide a certain aspect of your process.
   

1. Make your boss feel important. People become micromanagers because they have a hard time letting go of responsibilities. If your boss is a micromanager, it’s likely that he used to be the go-to person on his team for getting things done, and he prides himself on the quality of his work -- it’s what got him promoted in the first place. But now that he’s managing a team, he has to give up some of his responsibilities and delegate tasks to others, which can be a tough transition. You can help ease this process by making your boss feel included in decision-making. Along with your regular progress updates, give your boss a chance to weigh in on certain decisions, even if you have the authority and confidence to make the decision yourself. A good strategy is to make your own recommendation when you ask for feedback about a decision. For example, if you’ve read a script and think your boss might like to weigh in with notes before sending the writer on to a new draft, email the script to your boss along with your notes. He’s very likely to reiterate most of what you say, but he will feel important because he’s now made a contribution to the project. It’s all about perception here, but if you can make your boss feel like he’s in charge, you’ll be able to do your own work without as much interference.
   

The more you can get your boss to trust you, the more he will let you work independently, and the workflow will be that much smoother. And when you become a manager, remember all those annoying things your micromanaging boss did to you early in your career, and adopt a different management style!

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--Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan