Can micromanagement be cured?

Confronting an employee about his/her behaviour and persuading him/her to take responsibility to change it, then commit to actually doing so, is always a big ask for a manager. Doing the same with a micromanager may be one of the toughest challenges any manager can face.

As this series of articles on micromanagement has emphasised, micromanagers can be very tenacious people. Their management style is influenced by their fears, control mentality, personality and need for comfort, which are often very deeply ingrained. Progress with reducing their tendency to micromanage will be gradual and incremental, but it can be achieved.

Where to start?

The first step is to identify any factors apart from the manager him/herself that are contributing to micromanagement.

If the manager reports to you, start by analysing and seeking feedback on your own management style. Are you a micromanager yourself? Do you reward and encourage micromanagement behaviour, either overtly or subconsciously? Have you unintentionally trained or coached the person to micromanage? If you are modelling the wrong style and others are copying it in order to succeed or impress, perhaps you should read this previous article. 

The next thing to look at is the organisation culture. This is a very common contributor to micromanagement problems. Does it encourage and reward micromanagement behaviour? What examples do senior managers set for others? If the individual manager you are assisting seems to be mainly responding to these stimuli, an organisation cultural change program and evaluation of various HR policies are called for.

Next step: making the manager aware of problems

Assuming the above 'macro' problems are not evident, or at least not significant, the next step is to confront the individual manager.

Harry E Chambers, whose book My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide has been the principal information source for this series of articles, describes this step as 'creating awareness'. Self-awareness is very rare among micromanagers, you will need to demonstrate their problems to them, and this usually comes as a shock to them.

You can expect a defensive reaction from the micromanager, with earnest efforts to rationalise his/her behaviour.

Chambers recommends proceeding with caution, and suggests the following tips:

• Refer to incidents and examples as observations you have made, not things that the manager has done. Say 'I am aware of' or 'I have noticed a trend' rather than 'You did' or 'When you'.
• Collect information from others who are affected by the micromanager. It is best to encourage them to contribute openly to the performance management process, but if they prefer anonymity (which is often the case), corroborate their information with evidence from other people and add your own observations.
  If you tell a micromanager that 'someone' (anonymous) has complained, the manager is likely to form his/her own suspicions and confront the suspect. If you divulge a name, this is guaranteed to happen. They in turn may deny saying anything, in order to protect themselves, and your position is then undermined. When collecting evidence, take care to separate facts from personal agendas.
• 360-degree feedback tools can provide valuable collective data without revealing sources. If they are part of the organisation’s overall performance management system, even better, as the fact that all managers are evaluated simultaneously prevents a micromanager claiming that there is a witch hunt.
• Group discussions with other employees can help gather information, but be sure not to cross the line between evaluation and investigation/witch hunt. Micromanagers often have paranoid tendencies, so they will probably suspect or find out that you are up to something. A possible smokescreen is to evaluate several other managers in the same way at the same time.
• Direct confrontation with a micromanager may be necessary in 'crisis' situations, for example where several employees resign or threaten to do so, there is 'group anger' at a manager, or there are accusations of bullying. If this happens, try to make your approach respectful, non-personal and non-threatening.
• Presenting the perceptions of others is useful information that gives the micromanager less to defend. The focus is on the impact on others rather than what the manager actually does. You can present the issue as a need to change behaviour so that the perceptions by others will be more favourable. Point out that people have more influence over others if the others perceive them favourably.
• Identify the negative impact of micromanagement behaviour on the manager’s career. For example, someone who tries to make him/herself indispensable may not be perceived that way by others. Further, an 'indispensable' person may become unpromotable because no-one can fill his/her current role. If they fail to delegate or involve others in decisions, they also miss out on the expertise and input of others. Other negative effects may include staff turnover ('people leave managers, not companies'), and extra costs and reduced productivity due to red tape, excessive meetings, etc.
• Try to identify the underlying cause of the manager’s behaviour with non-threatening questions and requests for information. The aim is discussion, not accusation. Examples: 'Help me understand why this is done', 'What’s the reason behind…'
• Focus on a couple of specific behaviours at first, then move to deal with others later. Remember, it’s a gradual and incremental process that needs to build momentum.

Training and feedback

You can make micromanagers aware of their problems, but they may not know how to fix them. Coaching and training will usually be required, and Chambers recommends involving managers directly in determining the change strategy.

He recommends asking a series of 'how' questions, so that the micromanager can suggest practical ways to change things. Again play the 'changing perceptions' card. To use a management cliché, this approach helps to obtain the micromanager’s 'buy-in' and ownership of the solutions.

Various types of 'awareness' and interpersonal skills training may be helpful, for example, techniques that present a profile of managerial style and demonstrate the impact it has on others.

Monitoring of behaviour change will be required, and at least in the short term this may have to be a micromanagement strategy itself. It will have to be quite intense for at least a few months, then you can back off to some extent if there are signs of improvement.

The aim is an agreement that focuses on showing that the old-style behaviour is phasing out and new behaviour is replacing it. Acknowledge both successes and failures during this stage, commenting on any improvement that occurs even if it is not a perfect attempt.

Feedback needs to be specific and job-related, not in the vein of 'try harder'.

What if none of this works?

Unfortunately, there are some cases where micromanagement arises from deep-seated personality traits. These managers may find it impossible to change their behaviour significantly. There are also others who, for whatever reason, are determined not to change.

Where this happens, there are two options:

1. Damage control. Take them out of the loop for some activities, in order to limit their interference and disruption. Change approval processes and reduce the need for them to work in collaboration with others. Be aware of any efforts to make themselves indispensable. These steps will probably harm their career prospects, but there are inevitable consequences for resisting improvements.
2. Removal from management role. Sometimes this is the only solution, but it has to be done with procedural fairness and in compliance with employment laws. If you follow the suggestions in this series of articles, collecting enough information to have valid reasons for removing the manager should not be a problem.

Reference

Chambers, Harry E, My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2004.

Related

Micromanagement: a survival guide

Are you being micromanaged? This might help…

What if YOU are the micromanager?

Micromanagement: a macro problem

Putting the micromanager under the microscope

Micromanagement increases sick leave