Dealing with micro-management
Perspectives & advice from the community
u/Ashishpayasi shared the following advice on a post titled, I suddenly lost all respect for my boss, and it completely changed how I view my job.
This is very unfortunate and sad story of our corporate world and more so the problem is no amount of education can get you ready for such a situation.
What he did to you is completely wrong and should not have, but i would like to say world is full of such people, it is you who will have to change the thinking.
See at the end of the day if you choose to loose interest in work because of such idiots, it is your loss not his, he would find another bakra and continue. Well here is what i always suggest to people in corporate work and this is a mantra that would keep you at peace as well.
- The disappointment is with our unrealistic expectations from the boss and company, change it today. Know that none of the boss or company will do the same what you are willing to do for them. If you do not have expectations then you will be less hurt.
- What you are asked to do and what you finally choose to do should be mentally satisfying. If you overboard, and not well rewarded you will suffer. However if you choose to do, considering this to be as your learning and knowledge gain, even if you are not rewarded today, someday some other place some other company will compensate you. So eventually you have to continue to learn and excel no matter what your boss says or does.
- Keep your personal and professional life separate. Work as per the agreed timeline and make sure you take proper rest as well. The life is work life balance, it means if you are spending time at office when needed office need to accommodate when you need personal time off, if it doesn’t you neet to change.
- Getting along with office politics needs to be tread carefully, sometimes your peer or team members would stab you on your back to move on top of you. So what you need to do is make sure you are good to them, reward them when needed and save them when they are to be punished for mistakes. This will bring them to follow you not stab you. Always remember you are as good as your team.
- Don’t ever give remote control of your emotions and feelings to anyone else. What someone does to you should not effect you, instead play along and show them it does not matter to you.
- If ever your boss or team member crosses the boundary you don’t appreciate, take them to the corner / meeting room and let them know straight, next time they will be cautious to open their mouth.
Now cheer up and kick some asses.
By the way secret to make your boss likes you is not do chaplusi ( i mean that works for a lot of people but if you are not cut for that then dont) instead find out what your boss hates to do and learn to do and offer him/ her help. Idea is to make them dependent on you and never ever let them know what you feel about them. The best revenge is a silent revenge.
u/NoAssistance8618 on a now deleted post shared the following advice:
I know the common opinion is Manager bad, Employee good.
But hear me out.
Are you not setting expectations with your manager and vice versa - when you get assigned a task, ask when they expect it to be turned in. If they are expecting a day's effort to be completed in 1 hour, educate them - be clear why you think it will take more time. Set your expectations too.
Next, over communicate. Keep your manager in the loop at every milestone - so they know how many more milestones are there to be completed and the time it may take. There's a blocker that's stopping you from finishing your work? Immediately let your manager know there will be a delay. You under estimated the effort? Not a problem - tell your manager. Explain why you need more time. Don't beat around the bush - be honest. You need to be an adult to let the other person to also behave like an adult.
And I don't get why people think manager should know coding - they don't. They are hired for their people skills and time management skills - and they rely on their subordinates to keep them in the loop. Yes, they are expected to have knowledge in a domain - but that domain is rarely code.
If you think your manager is setting unrealistic expectation - nothing wrong in pointing it out to them. Not rudely - but back it up with facts. Show them examples or guide them on the different milestones / steps needed till you get the final task done.
Be confident - not doubtful. Your manager needs to believe you when you say you need a day to complete the assigned task, not have second thoughts yourself.
u/FactorResponsible609 shared the following advice on a post titled, It made me tears. I was bullied by a client at higher management.
Follow up on this with your immediate manager, and ask him for advice on how he will approach this situation. Don't let this go under the carpet. Two things will happen from here:
You stay quiet, you will continue to remember this forever and you'll soon become a punching bag for not only external clients but colleagues too. Humans tend to exploit soft punching bags. Nobody bothers a vocal person. The worst will be the abuse will be transformed into feedback and slide in your performance review. I have seen how people build bad narratives.
(a). You'll talk it out to the manager, probably they'll get you a diplomatic apology, next time these people will be sensitive to you & you'll be happy that you did at least something. Good people don't mind apologising if they made mistake.
(b). Your manager isn't bothered about it, in that case, it's a lesson well learnt to spot good vs bad managers, but hey you at least tried on your end.
A good manager will immediately follow up on such rude, personal remarks & get it resolved, he/she won't let sleep under the carpet for the next 1:1, feedback not.
Last but not least, don't stress over it. See if there is anything you can help to de-escalate, if it was not about following a process, may be you can document the process, may be make it more visible for others.
u/Beginning-Ladder6224 shared the following advice on a post titled, Manager micro-manages me and I'm Feeling burnout at my first job!.
Do not confuse burn out with micro management. Both have the symptom of you being pissed, but burn out is a clinical phenomenon.
A medical doctor will give you a certificate stating you are medically and clinically unfit to work anywhere. As a person who got burn out once with BP 110/190 for more than 3 months, I know. Did that happen to you? No? Then you are not having a burn out.
Thus it sort of becomes personal when random folks just use the term. Those, who actually got burn out would never be happy about it. In a burn out scenario, if you work, you die, you actually die out of heart attack or a stroke. That is what a burn out really is.
I am explaining this only once, so that everyone understands it, loud and clear.
Now that we are out of those, let's focus on OPs problems.
Out of all the "wasted time and career", you can not work with a micro manager who does not teach you anything. Lot of people confuses micro management with actual teaching on the job.
It seems your manager is a toxic person who is literally using his influence to imbibe himself into your career, for more control. He is a control freak and I have seen control freaks. Your manager shows classic symptoms of control freaks. This is also another clinically accepted diagnostic. I have worked with 2 control freaks, and both literally had to go to psychiatrists.
The only way out is to leave as soon as possible. I am always available in DM, so regarding any career choices or psychological choices or evaluation I am always available for everyone.
Get out as soon as you can from the managers influence.
Best.
u/Leather_Trick8751 shared the following advice on a post titled, Manager micro-manages me and I'm Feeling burnout at my first job!.
Okay let me put out there
you dont owe anything to your manager or company and vice-versa. You alway look out for your interest as company is looking out for their
Also manager micro managing and abusing people is sign of a incompetent manager not employees. He doesn't know how to manage.
Your career choices looking out for jobs, etc are your personal information and private. They have no authority over it and you dont have any obligation to share it with them until you decide to quit
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