Micromanagement is a management style characterized by excessive focus on observing and controlling subordinates and obsession with details. It is a negative term that refers to a pattern of manager behavior marked by excessive supervision and control of employees’ work and processes, as well as a limited delegation of tasks or decisions to staff. Micromanagers generally avoid giving decision-making power to their employees and are typically overly obsessed with information-gathering. Micromanagement is generally considered to have a negative connotation, suggesting a lack of freedom and trust in the workplace, and excessive focus on details at the expense of the "big picture" and larger goals.
Some common signs of micromanagement include:
- Excessive supervision and control of employees work and processes
- Limited delegation of tasks or decisions to staff
- Overly obsessed with information-gathering
- Avoiding giving decision-making power to employees
- Focusing excessively on procedural minutia rather than on overall performance, quality, and results
Being micromanaged can reduce an employees confidence, extinguish autonomy, and severely impact creativity. It can also lower company morale and create a hostile workplace. Once a micromanager has been identified, it’s time to take immediate steps to deal with them in order to mitigate the damage theyre doing to people, their productivity & confidence - and ultimately the company itself.
