Recipe to get micro-managed

We hate Managers who do micro-management because we don’t want to be reminded and followed up on every step that we do.  Rather we would want to be told the result expected and leave the rest of the things to us. That’s a fair expectation.

In this context, I would say, there are two kinds of managers.

     1.     Micro Managers who really do micro management. They are after you at every step to know the progress you are making.

     2.     Mangers who don’t really want to do micro-management. They empower you and expect you to assume accountability.

Let us look at the hypothetical scenarios given below.

Let us say that you are responsible visa processing and you are assigned to do visa processing for about 20 candidates within a month’s time. This job involves co-ordinating with all the candidates, filling up an on-line visa application form, paying the fee for visa interview, getting appointment for visa interview and visa interview orientation to the candidates. This is highly critical job.

If you are working with a micro manager, don’t be surprised to get daily follow-ups and probably multiple follow-ups every day till the job is completed. He is literally after you at every step. He would ensure that the job is completed even if it were to hate him.

Let us assume that you are working with a boss who does not do micro-management, ie, he belongs to the 2^nd category given above. As per the timeline, he is asking for the status of the work and you tell him that the job is incomplete.  You list down various reasons due to which you could not complete the job on time. The reasons are very genuine and beyond your control.

What do you think has gone wrong in the 2^nd scenario wherein your boss is not a micro manager?

I think everything has gone wrong.  1) You should have built visibility on the status of the task on a regular basis till it’s logical conclusion 2) anticipated any issues beforehand or in case of any issues, you should have escalated it proactively so your boss could have had some reaction time. But what you have ensured is, the job is incomplete and more than that, you’ve given a rude surprise to your boss after the timeline.

Next time, don’t expect your boss ( though he may not believe in micro management) to not follow up or do micro management with you.

How to not get micro-managed?

Build visibility: If you don’t want to get micro-managed, do provide visibility on the status of work on a regular basis till its logical conclusion. If visa processing is to be completed for 20 candidates within a months’ time, may be a weekly status mail will help. You both are on the same page on the progress and it leaves enough room for your boss to do course correction, if required.

Proactive escalation: You should anticipate problems and escalate on time with your suggestions. If you face any problems in completing the visa processing on time, you should escalate it on time, not after the timeline at the time of follow-up.

Management by exception: If a task is delegated and you & your Manager agree on a timeline, you are responsible to complete it on time. If there is no escalation from, your boss will assume that things are on track and there is no issue. Any Manager who believes in empowerment will follow this principle. If it’s violated, trust is violated and he will be bound to micro-manage you.

Before blaming your Mangers for their micro-management leadership style, let us first objectively look at how we manage our work.  How your Boss manages you depends, to a large extent, on how you manage your boss.  

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