How to deal with micromanagement

In the previous bite, I described how I saw micromanagers behaving in different contexts. Perhaps, I helped you better identify if your working environment suffers from micromanagement or not. I hope so.

Now it is time to figure out what we can do in those poisoned environments, but before shaping some possible solutions, we need to understand why micromanagement is a reality.

Why are there micromanagers?

I gained the ability to recognize micromanagers quite fast, as I met many of them in the past (yes, not much luck 😭 ). The examples we went through are just the most prominent I can remember, but surely there are more out there. Over time, I started asking myself why there are micromanagers.

Here I list some of the possible answers I gave myself. They are not mutually exclusive, they mix up very well together instead.

• Wannabes. Some people don't want to start a career. Some people want to shine. Some people want to be the brightest star in their company sky. This is at all cost, even at their team health cost. Untrust and overcontrol may hide their fear of being stolen from the credit they claim for themselves. That is why micromanagers take advantage of any occasion to show themselves off. Unfortunately, I worked in companies that encourage this behavior as they read it as seniority and ambition.

• Weak processes. When trust is missing, then why such untrusted developers were assigned to the team in the first place? Or even hired at all, in the worst cases? This may highlight some weaknesses in team creation or hiring processes. That's a company issue that a manager is supposed to make evident and possibly tackle.

• Incompetence. Micromanagers fail in their role for multiple reasons. First, they are not able to create a healthy team and a friendly environment. People may start to suffer from this situation and eventually quit. Second, they are not good at managing their own time. Working overtime frequently just to control other activities in their bits, is a clear sign of it. Third, they fail as developers. Software development is hard and the chances that some knowledge is gapping are very high. A developer must always be open-minded to new proposals and discuss them constructively, by understanding them and highlighting their strengths and drawbacks in a given context. This is true regardless of the level of seniority. Our learning path is neverending. When micromanagers impose their view, they fail in this regard.

Possible solutions

What to do in those situations?

1. Speak up for yourself. Talk to your micromanager face to face and express politely your frustration. Not all micromanagers are strictly bad, some of them are just going through hard times, or have been assigned to the wrong role for their professional profile. Be polite and get straight to the point, unveiling how much you were frustrated by a situation or a behavior. While working sometimes, even polite discussion can lead to a shield-against-shield match, no matter how gently the conversation was started. Micromanagers could feel under attack and react consequently. For a professional, this is all but a victory, a happy and healthy debate is now gone. Before adopting this strategy, carefully evaluate how sensitive is the micromanager to frontal debate.

2. Talk with your teammates. If the feeling is shared, the stronger are the chances that you all will be listened to by your micromanager or even his/her boss. Otherwise, this could be only a problem of yours and you have just to admit that that team may not be a good fit for you.

3. Escalate, better off along with your teammates. It does not matter if it is a Scrum Master or a manager, no wise company wants micromanagers on their organic. This could eventually lead to a mitigation and a better working life or the micromanager can be assigned to another team. Human dynamics are complex to manage, and sometimes getting a helpful hand from outside is all that is needed to sort that situation out.

4. Quit? If nothing you tried worked, you should evaluate if micromanagement is not just allowed, but even encouraged in your company. In this case, it's up to you to accept this condition or quit.

An advice

Just remember to always be kind. Don't let your anger spill out, no matter how tough the situation can be. When your frustration goes any close to your tolerance limit, just start chasing a solution, even the most drastic one which is to quit. Also, in that case, don't shut the door. Instead, let it close gently and then run away as fast as you can towards your new adventure.

If you face anything similar, let me tell you you're not alone and this is a sad reality many of us share. Remember that you deserve better, way much better. Then, let me wish you good luck with your career.