To direct or control in a detailed, often meddlesome manner. At the root of virtually all micromanagement is fear. Fear that if they don't do it, no one else will (or no one will do it as well). Fear that the organization will fail, will have horrible things happen to it. Fears about money, about bad press. When individuals behave badly it is usually because they feel their comfort or security is threatened in some way. When boards behave badly (and micromanagement is just one symptom of this), they are usually concerned about the health and safety of the organization. If you can keep in mind that boards micromanage because they care and therefore have fears and concerns, and NOT because they are power hungry control freaks, then you will be better equipped to get them to stop.
Instead of trusting his employees to do their job, Hugo micro-manages every detail - thus, ensuring the project takes longer to finish than necessary.
by DeFrog June 22, 2006
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Wow, Rick really knows how to manage people. Well, just people that can stand the constant bitching, and holier than thou attitude that Rick, the wannabe "I was a rocker, but now I'm your boss" delivers.
by me July 28, 2004
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by Dolz November 1, 2018
Get the Micro manage mug.to manage especially with excessive control or attention to details; victims of Micro-Mormon Management are most commonly known to release their tensions through smiling, baking Jesus cookies, and trying to convert everyone they know in order to make everyone else's lives just as constrained as their own.
Mark had been so Micro-Mormon Managed that when it came time to go on his mission he had no objections with being sent to Detroit.
by FranksG August 23, 2010
Get the Micro-Mormon Manage mug.by Tetrarch May 2, 2014
Get the Micro-managing mug.1. A person that micro manages every minuscule detail.
2. A person that micro manages every task on a grand scale.
2. A person that micro manages every task on a grand scale.
Jake is such a macro-micro manager. He not only told us what to do and how to do it, but provided step-by-step instructions from the beginning to the end of the task.
by Savencash October 20, 2010
Get the Macro-micro manager mug.A person who is driven by fear and anxiety into mettling with others' work. Micromanagers are bosses or peers who constantly seek to usurp the decision rights of others. Their excessively insecure and competitive nature causes them to react negatively to ideas and efforts not their own. If they possess authority, they will aggressively use it to control the way work gets done around them. They are typically focused on process rather than results. They criticize others far more frequently than they praise them.
A micromanager is motivated by a fear of receiving blame for "mistakes" made on their watch. They will try to reduce risk by squelching the initiative of others and they will try to insure no mistakes are being made by insisting on reviewing and "approving" work. Frequently, they will make unnecessary requests for more work and will provide repeated edits.
Almost all micromanagers are workaholics with codependent relationships in the organization. They surround themselves with bureaucrats when they can. Their relationship to their boss is far more important to them than their relationship to their staff or peers. If a micromanager has been in their position for a long time and are perceived as successful, then the organizational disfunction is institutional. Many organizations succeed by utilizing micromanagers to "ensure quality" or to make other employees depart.
The typical experience for an employee working for a micromanager is repleat with frustration and runs the risk of demoralizing the individual and impacting their self esteem. Confident employees of micromanagers will often develop effective means for managing upward, but the majority of staff who are micromanaged will modify their behavior in negative ways:
1) slacking - avoiding the manager and reducing output
2) facilitating - giving up decision rights and following orders
3) rebelling - pushing back in career-destroying ways
Micromanagers know the rules and are very good at avoiding putting themselves into a position where they will be vulnerable to disciplinary action. Though their actions reduce productivity, their long list of efforts that they control looks highly productive to their superiors. Though not all sycophants are micromanagers, all micromanagers are sycophants.
Workers faced with a micromanaging boss would be well advised to develop a clear, thorough strategy for coping with the situation. Leaving the position or the company should be viewed as a reasonable solution.
A micromanager is motivated by a fear of receiving blame for "mistakes" made on their watch. They will try to reduce risk by squelching the initiative of others and they will try to insure no mistakes are being made by insisting on reviewing and "approving" work. Frequently, they will make unnecessary requests for more work and will provide repeated edits.
Almost all micromanagers are workaholics with codependent relationships in the organization. They surround themselves with bureaucrats when they can. Their relationship to their boss is far more important to them than their relationship to their staff or peers. If a micromanager has been in their position for a long time and are perceived as successful, then the organizational disfunction is institutional. Many organizations succeed by utilizing micromanagers to "ensure quality" or to make other employees depart.
The typical experience for an employee working for a micromanager is repleat with frustration and runs the risk of demoralizing the individual and impacting their self esteem. Confident employees of micromanagers will often develop effective means for managing upward, but the majority of staff who are micromanaged will modify their behavior in negative ways:
1) slacking - avoiding the manager and reducing output
2) facilitating - giving up decision rights and following orders
3) rebelling - pushing back in career-destroying ways
Micromanagers know the rules and are very good at avoiding putting themselves into a position where they will be vulnerable to disciplinary action. Though their actions reduce productivity, their long list of efforts that they control looks highly productive to their superiors. Though not all sycophants are micromanagers, all micromanagers are sycophants.
Workers faced with a micromanaging boss would be well advised to develop a clear, thorough strategy for coping with the situation. Leaving the position or the company should be viewed as a reasonable solution.
My boss is a classic kiss-up-kick-down micromanager who won't allow me to do my job without constant interference.
by leap4rog September 30, 2007
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