How do you deal with a micromanager?

[Deleted]

I have been at my current position since Oct 2011. In Jan 2012 our team went under realignment and everyone was juggled and given new team leads.

My current team lead is obsessed micro manager. There really is no other way to put it. She stresses me out by asking me about things I have already taken care of. Asking me to details processes etc.

I have been in this field for 3 yrs and have gotten glowing reviews from this and every job I have had in the field. In my time here I already got a raise and several bonuses.

Since being realigned under the team lead my quality of work remained the same so her micro managing nature has not helped me. However, my job satisfaction has drastically decreased. What can I do about this? I have never experinced this kind of management style before. There are 4 of us on the team and we all feel this way.

[expatpumpkin]

Quit.

I just couldn't.

I can't stand micromanagement. Sooner than later, my attitude would show this. And then I'd get fired. So I'd have to get in front of it and quit first, hahaha.

Sorry you're dealing with this. I can barely handle "good" bosses, so I'm really feeling for you.

[expatpumpkin]

Or get her fired. Actually, that's a better plan. Can the four of you form a solid front?

[mbcdefg]

Can you tell her that you'll send one daily email, or you'll meet with her once a week for 30-60 minutes, and you will go over everything at that time? I might phrase it saying something like, "When we go over everything multiple times a day, it really limits my productivity" or "I have to stop what I'm doing to talk about it and i'd rather just stay on track and catch up with you afterward."

Or maybe you could say something like, "I realize that we all need to get used to working together, but I've been hitting/surpassing my goals and completing my work just fine all this time. Do you have specific concerns about my work, or are you just trying to stay informed of my progress?"

[cjeanette]

Have you addressed this with her at all?

[womet]

:::signing in to see what others suggest:::

My current team lead is this way. She and I are the same age, started in our organization at the same time, but she has 1 more year in our group. I've also got a PhD. We were coworkers until she was selected for the position.

[mrs.spunky]

Aug 7, 2012 13:51:56 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Can you tell her that you'll send one daily email, or you'll meet with her once a week for 30-60 minutes, and you will go over everything at that time? I might phrase it saying something like, "When we go over everything multiple times a day, it really limits my productivity" or "I have to stop what I'm doing to talk about it and i'd rather just stay on track and catch up with you afterward."

Or maybe you could say something like, "I realize that we all need to get used to working together, but I've been hitting/surpassing my goals and completing my work just fine all this time. Do you have specific concerns about my work, or are you just trying to stay informed of my progress?"

This. Allllll of this.

It has seriously cut down on the incessant questions/emails/phone calls during the day. Every file I update, any paperwork that comes in from a client, any insurance policies that come in for clients and I send to them/make an appointment for them to come in, every phone call, etc., I keep a log of it in my email drafts. I cc my boss on all important emails - it is his inbox that is clogged, not mine. At 4:30ish I review what is in my drafts, make any changes/updates I need to and send as I am walking out the door at 5.

[Deleted]

Aug 7, 2012 13:52:02 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

Have you addressed this with her at all?

No. She gets really defensive if you make any suggestions about anything. I want to get mad (inside) about it but it really is a cultural thing for her and she just can't help herself.

[Brie]

Flip her off under my desk every time she leaves my office and count the work days left until she retires (18!).

Probably not the best strategy though.

[Deleted]

Aug 7, 2012 13:56:02 GMT -5 mrs.spunky said:

Aug 7, 2012 13:51:56 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Can you tell her that you'll send one daily email, or you'll meet with her once a week for 30-60 minutes, and you will go over everything at that time? I might phrase it saying something like, "When we go over everything multiple times a day, it really limits my productivity" or "I have to stop what I'm doing to talk about it and i'd rather just stay on track and catch up with you afterward."

Or maybe you could say something like, "I realize that we all need to get used to working together, but I've been hitting/surpassing my goals and completing my work just fine all this time. Do you have specific concerns about my work, or are you just trying to stay informed of my progress?"

This. Allllll of this.

It has seriously cut down on the incessant questions/emails/phone calls during the day. Every file I go into (one per client), every phone call, etc., I write down and keep a log in my email drafts. I cc my boss on all important emails - it is his inbox that is clogged, not mine. At 4:30ish I review what is in my drafts, make any changes/updates I need to and send as I am walking out the door at 5.

Per management we used to have weekely meetings like this. She changed them to biweekly meetings. Maybe I need to make a special request to have weekely meetings again and see if that helps.

[WOT?*]

This is why I am no longer with my former employer, as well as five attorneys (10, 10, 20, 8 and 5 years with the company) and a paralegal (13 years with the company) over the past less than three years.

Obviously I have no advice other than to leave. Sorry.

[Deleted]

Aug 7, 2012 13:58:30 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

This is why I am no longer with my former employer, as well as five attorneys (10, 10, 20, 8 and 5 years with the company) and a paralegal (13 years with the company) over the past less than three years.

Obviously I have no advice other than to leave. Sorry.

I applied to this company for 3 yrs to get this dream job. I love my duties. I am 3 miles from my home, flex hours, 1 mile from daycare and good $. It's sad but I may have to quit.

[mrs.spunky]

What makes it better for me, is that I KNOW my boss has no issues with my work product, my processes (in that I am kinda left to my own) and my interactions with clients and other brokers.
He is just incredibly neurotic and needs reassurance that everything is getting done and in a timely manner, and that our clients are satisfied and up to date on every.little.thing. He basically falls apart when I am not around, lol.
That said, I probably make it worse b/c I can do maybe 80% of my work from the time I arrive at 9 til the time he usually comes in at 10 and then from when he leaves around 3:30/4 til I leave at 5. So most of my calls, emails, etc. are from those times because I have no distractions and he wonders what I am doing in the interim.

[ondaflipside]

I honestly don't. F*ck that sh*t. You need to be assertive and tell her 'you got this'.

[vtkgirl77]

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. My thought is that some micro managers have a fear that either (1) they don't know what's going on and/or (2) that their employees are not being productive. So, I try to diminish that fear by keeping them in the loop and making my work very transparent.

One idea is that you could keep a listing of all of your projects and the current status and meet with her regularly as others suggested. You could also stop by her office each morning or send her an email with what you plan to work on for that day and even send an email at the end of the day with the status. Even though all of this is a pain, I've found that it reduces the number of times the are coming over to my desk and asking questions.

[jewel]

Aug 7, 2012 13:56:16 GMT -5 vigurl said:

Aug 7, 2012 13:52:02 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

Have you addressed this with her at all?

No. She gets really defensive if you make any suggestions about anything. I want to get mad (inside) about it but it really is a cultural thing for her and she just can't help herself.

I am like you, and got a similar change in management a couple of years ago.

It was a ROUGH transition, and I got chastised often. I was looking for a new job. One day, when she was upset with me again, I ended up telling her that I wasn't getting any personal satisfaction out of the job anymore. I think that problem-solving is a valuable skill and part of what makes my position enjoyable for me. I made it more about me, and what I love about my job, and not about her sticking her nose into everything.

From my experience, micro-managers have very fragile egos, so be careful how you word any feedback, if you do.

I also talked to HR because I thought she was trying to get me fired. I wanted to approach them first, letting them know that I was doing everything possible to keep my side of the street clean. After the HR meeting, she actually backed off and hasn't been an ass to me since.

Not sure if you can try either approach, but I can at least commiserate. That situation can be so miserable. I'm sorry

[Deleted]

Aug 7, 2012 14:20:39 GMT -5 @booby said:

Aug 7, 2012 13:56:16 GMT -5 vigurl said:

No. She gets really defensive if you make any suggestions about anything. I want to get mad (inside) about it but it really is a cultural thing for her and she just can't help herself.

what does this mean exactly?

She is from the same country and culture as one of our remote teams. At a staff meeting many of us voiced to the manager (the person I am having a problem with is the team lead) that we felt like we had to spell everything out to this remote team. Team lead then got up and said in front of all of us wellt hey are a different culture and things work x way where I am from and it is normal to spell out every detail about everything.

[UMaineTeach]

I dealt with one by letting her do more work if that's what she really wanted.

e.g It was my job to write reviews for staff I supervised. I would write them, she would get to see them before they went to the staff member, because the didn't trust. She would re-write it the way she wanted and I would re-type. I stopped putting in excessive effort once I realized that she was going to make me write it the way she wanted, using her words and ideas.

[vanillacourage]

Aug 7, 2012 13:58:20 GMT -5 vigurl said:

Per management we used to have weekely meetings like this. She changed them to biweekly meetings. Maybe I need to make a special request to have weekely meetings again and see if that helps.

I meet with my boss 1:1 once/week and he's by no means a micromanager. It's just a good time to catch up.

[Kore]

I had to find a new job. It was driving me completely insane. She went so far as to create a productivity spreadsheet on the shared drive where we had to log every minute of our day, including bathroom breaks. And then she'd send emails critiquing our time management. It was awful.

[Melissa W.]

My boss is somewhat like this.. The other day after the 15th call, during which he asked if I got something done, my response was, "No because I have been on the phone with you all day." He laughed and told me he would leave me alone.