Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in the workforce has almost certainly encountered at least one supervisor who qualified as a micromanager. For many employees, that control-based management style can result in destroyed morale, reduced worker engagement, and an increasingly hostile work environment. Fortunately, there are signs that can help you to recognize when your boss is a micromanager and ways to deal with that management style.

In this post, we’ll examine the reasons why bosses become micromanagers, and explore the various signs that can help you to identify micromanagement in your workplace. We’ll also offer some tips to help you to deal with a micromanager boss and advice to ensure that your career advancement is not stymied by that type of work environment.

What is a micromanager?

When it comes to understanding the definition of micromanager, the word practically defines itself. Micromanagement occurs when supervisors assign tasks to their team members and then spend an excessive amount of time and energy overseeing every minor detail of their employee’s work. These types of managers often seem incapable of simply allowing their subordinates to use their talents to complete tasks, and instead try to control everything that those employees do.

In short, these managers seldom delegate responsibility and instead try to maintain tight control over everything that occurs within their area of accountability. Micromanagers try to manage every work detail, right down to the “micro level.”

What causes someone to micromanage?

It is important to understand why managers might gravitate toward this control-based management style. Those reasons can vary from manager to manager, but typically involve one or more of the following mindsets:

A sincere, though usually erroneous, belief that they will lose control over projects unless they manage every minor detail of their team’s work

Insecurity about their own ability to manage a team through delegation and trust, or fear that others’ success might highlight the manager’s weaknesses

A lack of experience in supervising others

Poor time management skills and an inability to prioritize their own important work tasks

An inability to extend trust to their subordinates and an unwillingness to accept that they can achieve their assigned tasks without excessive supervision

Is micromanagement toxic?

Before we consider the potential toxicity of micromanagement, it’s important to recognize that most micromanagers probably mean well. After all, no reasonably competent manager would consciously adopt a management style that sabotages their own effectiveness. With that said, however, there is no doubt that micromanagers can have an incredibly toxic effect on their employees and workplace. The reasons are obvious:

Constant excessive supervision wastes valuable management time that could be better spent elsewhere

A micromanager’s focus on control can frustrate employees by reducing their ability to take initiative in their work

The constant focus on oversight and reporting micro details to a manager can disrupt tasks and leave employees constantly looking over their shoulders

Micromanagement almost invariably complicates even simple tasks, creating more work for each member of the team

This style of management causes team members to place undue emphasis on lesser priorities, rather than focusing on using their talents to further the big picture goals

Team members who were hired for their skills can become disgruntled when they realize that their micromanager refuses to take advantage of those talents

The refusal to empower employees can lead to lingering and growing resentment, reduced engagement and productivity, and eventual employee attrition