Stop Being Micromanaged by Amy Gallo

Author: Amy Gallo

No one likes a boss who excessively scrutinizes work and constantly checks in. Not only is this micromanaging behavior annoying, but it can also stunt your professional growth. If you have a controlling boss, you don’t have to suffer. By assuaging a micromanager’s stress, you may be able to secure the autonomy you need to get your work done and advance your career.

What the Experts Say

Micromanaging abounds in today’s organizations, but typically it has nothing to do with performance. “It’s more about your boss’s level of internal anxiety and need to control situations than anything about you,” says Jenny Chatman, a professor of management at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley who researches and consults on organizational culture. The bad news is fighting back won’t work. “If you rebel against it, you will just get more of it,” says Jean-François Manzoni, a professor of management at INSEAD and coauthor of The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail. So you can’t change the way your boss leads, but you can change the way you follow, using these tactics.

Evaluate the behavior

Manzoni cautions that all controlling bosses are not cut from the same cloth. On one end of the spectrum, you have managers who have very high standards and like some degree of control. They may regularly send you back to rework something that doesn’t measure up. Manzoni offers Steve Jobs as an example of this kind of boss. They pay a great deal of attention to detail and exercise some degree of control, but they don’t stifle those who work for them. In fact, you may be able to learn a great deal from them.

At the other end of the spectrum are people Manzoni describes as “pathological micromanagers who need to make it clear to themselves and others that they are in charge.” These are the bosses that give you little to no autonomy, insist they be involved in every detail of your work, and are more concerned about specifics, such as font size, rather than the big picture. “Micromanagers are obsessed with control. You know you are working with one if they get involved in a level of detail that is way below their pay grade,” says Chatman.

Don’t fight it

Both experts agree that it’s counterproductive to rail against micromanagement. “If you push back in one way or another—passively or aggressively—your manager may conclude you can’t be trusted and get more involved,” says Manzoni. It may be tempting to complain, but it is not advisable. “If I sense disdain, I’m going to be encouraged to show you that on my forehead it says ‘boss’ and on yours it doesn’t,” says Manzoni. Instead, try to understand what is causing your boss’s behavior. Are they under immense pressure? Is this their intuitive way of managing? Does the company culture encourage and reward this kind of behavior? By recognizing the underlying reasons, you can figure out how to respond.

Increase trust

According to Chatman, micromanagement is usually “based on a general view that the world’s standards are not up to what they should be.” You therefore need to make a conscious and honest effort to earn your manager’s trust by succeeding in the dimensions that they care about. “You absolutely, positively must deliver and deliver in a way that doesn’t increase your boss’s stress. In fact, identify things that reduce your boss’s stress,” says Manzoni. He suggests you say to your manager, “I see you’re under unbelievable pressure. How can I help?”

Make up-front agreements

Another tactic is to talk to your boss—before a project starts—about how they will be involved. “Try to agree on standards and basic approach,” says Manzoni. Explain what you think the ideal plan of action is and then ask for their input. “Be sure you understand up front what the guiding principles are for the work—not just the tactical elements. These principles are what you should be discussing with your boss,” says Chatman. For example, if you are working on an internal marketing campaign, be sure to talk about the message you want to send, not the font you should use. If the discussion becomes overly focused on detail, try to bring it back to the principles and approach you agreed on. Flattery can also work. Remind your boss that they are better off not getting involved in the minutiae because their time and effort are more valuable for the big picture.

Keep your boss in the loop

Remember that micromanagers are often motivated by anxiety. “They are nervous about anyone else being able to do things as well or in the way they would do them,” says Chatman. You can often address that concern by keeping your manager informed of the project’s progress. You can schedule regular check-ins that help them feel part of the process. Or you can send unprompted emails that share important information. If the boss has made it clear that they want to know about detail, don’t hesitate to get specific. While annoying now, it may save you the effort of redoing work later on. Most importantly, Manzoni says, if you have questions or need clarification, don’t wait until the last minute. That will only amplify the boss’s worry.

Give feedback, only if appropriate

Telling a micromanager that you don’t appreciate their controlling behavior may only trigger more of it. But some well-meaning managers may be open to hearing your input. “Try to catch your boss in a moment of openness,” says Manzoni. He suggests using the time in a scheduled performance review. Try something like, “Look, I like working with you, but there is one thing that would make things better.” You can also involve a trusted third party, such as an HR manager, who can help you get your point across.

Be careful, though—if you have a manager who enjoys showing they have the power and you don’t, this could backfire. If none of the above strategies work, ask yourself: Do I really want to work here? “If it’s pathological, you should consider transferring to another part of the company or finding another job,” says Manzoni.

Case Study: Keep the Micromanager Informed

Harry had worked as a fundraiser for an Austin-based nonprofit for four and a half years when Sandra came on as his boss. He was considered the office expert when it came to fundraising, and his coworkers regularly turned to him for advice. While he expected some changes when Sandra took over, he did not anticipate she’d be such a micromanager. “She wanted to see everything I produced and approve it before I moved on to the next task, right down to the email responses I sent to donors who had questions about what types of in-kind donations we took,” he says. Sandra’s second-guessing even extended to issues like the amount of postage needed for mailings and how to load stationery into the office printer. “No matter what task I was performing and what my level of experience was with it, I always felt as if every aspect of my work was considered ‘suspect’ until it had been verified,” he says.

Harry attempted to keep Sandra’s behavior at bay by keeping her fully informed. He sent her regular updates on projects: once a day for high-priority items and once a week for ongoing initiatives. He kept the notes brief, listing the task he had just completed and his proposed next step, which was always something he could complete before he sent the next update so that she could see clear progress. This approach eased Sandra’s anxiety.

However, the constant updates added to Harry’s workload. “The pile-on meant that my work suffered and that things weren’t done as fast as Sandra was expecting them to be done,” he says. He was concerned that Sandra wouldn’t be open to hearing how her behavior was affecting his work, so he talked with the HR manager, who agreed to host a meeting. As Harry suspected, Sandra was unreceptive. In fact, she defended her actions. Harry ultimately left the organization.

Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, cohost of the Women at Work podcast, and the author of two books: Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022 and 2017, respectively). She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics. Watch her TEDx talk on conflict and follow her on LinkedIn.