Home > Bosses From Hell
the micromanager
Posted on 08/17/2005 by innadaze
Viewed: 2217 times
I have the boss from hell - he is such a micromanager but he does not even know what's going on in the office - he has to do all of the talking - is not interested in my comments although I have been doing my job for 8 years and he has been micromanaging for about 4 yrs - I have decided it is much better for me to email him questions rathe than try to have a real conversation face to face = he can be very curt and unpleaseant - I don't need that stress
it is so obvious who he likes and dislikes - I feel that I am in the dislike category - also, I think it could be an age issue since I am about 15 years older than he. I guess I am now in the "older worker" category. Essentially now when he comes into my office I listen and usually don't comment - shake my head in acknowledgement of what he is saying - consequently - I feel frustrated and stressed out that he does not want to hear my comments about situations occurring that affect my office.
any suggestions regarding how to handle the "young" (40ish) boss from hell will be appreciated - management classes were not required for his degree - innadaze
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brother from another mother(08/18/2005)
Micromanagers are the worst! You can't do anything without them sticking their nose in and/or making sure they know what you are doing at every minute. I used to have this boss that would make us gather every morning in the hallway and tell him what we were each going to that day. If we were working from home, we had to call him sometime between 8:30 and 9 and tell him "what was on your plate" and whether you had "bandwidth" for anything unexpected. I cut that leash and have been a free man ever since.
 SouthernProgrammer(08/18/2005)
There isn't much you can do with a micromanager. IMO - If a manager has to have a daily meeting to find out what you are doing either one of two things are happening
1 - They don't understand what you are doing.
2 - They don't know what THEY are doing.
Both of which are dangerous situations.
Years ago I left a position due to micromanagement, we had a 2 hour (yes 2 HOUR) meeting every morning to discuss what our group (the manager plus four workers) was going to do.
Then, 1 hour before we were to leave we would meet AGAIN to discuss the day. After 6 months we all complained about the meetings so we had a meeting to discuss having so many meetings. This was State Goverment in action!
It would stink to have a younger boss with that much of an age gap. You probably FORGOT more than he will learn.
 corporateSlave(08/18/2005)
> 1 - They don't understand what you are doing. 2 - They don't know what THEY are doing. <
THAT SAYS IT ALL, SP! I think it makes them feel like they are doing SOMETHING if they are supervising to that level. Either that or they just have to be in control 24-7...
 megamania(08/18/2005)
I don't think there's much you can do with a micromanager... He's not going to change, it's a control thing. It'll have to come from above down, rather than from down at your level. Me? I'd look into leaving. You don't say if you are happy there otherwise?
BB(08/19/2005)
I recently lost my job due to a micromanager who did not understand what exactly was occurring in my department. She wouldn't even look at me when she addressed a question I asked. She put me through the most devastating year in my life. I could not do anything right, everything I did was question. In truth I was the only one in my department that cared enough to do things the right way, and was the most effective worker with a 99.5% accuracy rate. Also any ideas I gave was ignored, but a few weeks later would be her brainstorm idea. My advice to you is get out of there. After being dehumanized and demoralized for almost a year she fired me for a honest mistake that had no bearing on anything important. I have been looking for a job for 3 months and no one believes that I lost my job of 10 years for anything other then my dishonesty. Either quit or turn the tables on him.
Chaz(08/24/2005)
Managers who micro manage are (in my experience) doing it for two reasons.
1. They have an ego as big as Texas and they need to control the world. 2. They are trying to put down every little thing to either get you fired or demoted so that their buddies can take your place. You have said you are on the dislike list and that makes me think it's reason two. Get out before he can do you serious harm!!
joanie(11/21/2005)
do you fight or join a micromanager - is it always a hopeless situation -
YepBeenThereDoneThat(11/22/2005)
I have a micromanager and this person does it because he/she does not really know what we do all day. We all have to meet with him/her every morning individually, and then we have a group meeting with him/her again in a couple of hours. She/he wants to know everything right when you're doing it. ANd she/he has been in the job for a real short time and has already promoted a person who is not competent to be his/her #2. I suspect they are sleeping together.
Micromanagers are the worst. Insecure boobs, the whole bunch of them.
yesfan(11/26/2005)
It is so easy to say "quit." If you quit, you don't get unemployment insurance. I don't have enough cash to live on for a year, and I have been trying for the four years I've had this low-paying job to get a better one, with no success. I'm a journalist, so now I'm applying for journalism grants that are sort of like book advances. Meanwhile, one of you said "turn the tables on" the boss. Can anyone give examples of how they did that? Not revenge, just something effective to get him off my case. I'd love to help my boss get a better job offer in a different company, for example.
trying to recover(03/11/2006)
I had never experienced a mirocromanager until recently when I was fired by one. I never saw it coming. I had an indication, but because one day I was being praised by the supervisor and the next day scolded like a child, I really had so many mixed signals. In addition to the mircomanager herself, there was a middle or sub-micromanager who had been cloned and trained to think the exact same way. I made the mistake of giving her many reasons (tardiness, but not excessive) was just the reason she needed to fire me. Even though, the real reason was that I spoke out to her about our 2 - 3 days a week 1-1-1/2 hour meetings. I told her I felt as though I were in school. I told her that if I ordered to many pencils and someone saw, e-mailed her about it I would have to have a meeting about it with her of why I ordered so many. I was on this job for six months but I have learned some valuable lessons that will last me the rest of my life. 1) no matter how well liked you are by a micromanager, never trust them, they will turn on you when you take away their control or they feel you are a threat; 2) never give them "anything" that they can use against you; 3) you can never satisfy them no matter how hard you try; 4) their goal and deep rooted need/desire is to control. These are just a few lessons, there are more. I am trying to recover from this, but it is very hard being it just happened. It helps to read the posts of others to know I am not alone and I did not confront my former micromanager for no other reason but just to not allow myself to be controlled to the point of feeling like I was a child. I will regardless of anything "keep my head up" and everyone who deals with a micromanager should do the same. We were all created equal, as individuals and no one has the right to treat another person as anything less.
 Dharmadee(03/12/2006)
Hi - this is amazing! These people sound exacly like the "Bimbo from hell". Is there a "Micro-managing" training course out there we don't knpow about?
My manager acted like I was her best friend too! She pumped me for information about the office, I taught her how to use the damn computer (yes, I am so helpful-and she did not know how to format a paragraph!)- then she turned on me when I refused to back-stab a fellow employee with her. When I flatly told her she was wrong about this person, rather than nod my head like a puppet, she snapped, "You have YOUR opinion, I have mine. Good day!" That was it. My you-know-what was grass, as they say. Then, it was one thing after another, suddenly I am the worst ever. The therapist I just went to told me that in these cases, the more efficient a worker I am, the worse it will be. That just challenges these dimwits even more, and makes them feel a greater loss of control. They do not want good workers, the therapist said they just want "syncophants".
another manager(03/12/2006)
Let me provide another advice from manager perspective. Excessive meetings do kill employees, however, have you ever thought about there may be a possibility you do not know as much as this person in terms of what's going on at higher level? Sometimes, the decisions are made based on this added knowledge that is not privilege to share...
Dharmadee(03/12/2006)
Dear Other Manager-
Perhaps you should consider this a learning experience, instead of trying to justify poor managment skills. Or- go to a website where like-minded individuals from your "peer group" can pat each other on the back, and complain about your inefficient employees.
BumpedForTheLastTime(03/12/2006)
I had a similar experience with the Bimbo Manager, except she wasn't a manager. I was a legal secretary in a law office and she was replaced by the senior partner when she had no secretarial experience at all. She became his snitch. Let's just say she dressed very provocatively. I was fired because the senior partner told me that I didn't have the skills they were looking for. Anyway, I have a question. Since I knew if prospective employers contacted the senior partner, he would tell them I didn't have any skills (and I know he has told other people) is it okay to leave this firm off of a resume? I was only there for two months.
Worker Bee(03/12/2006)
Micro-managers are not interested in what work or how much work actually gets done because in their mind that’s the responsibility of the “worker bees.” A micro-manager’s primary interest is in knowing the status of every facet of the work. This is what they then report to their management, and makes them sound as if they have their fingers on the pulse of the job. This way if all goes well, they take the credit for the job being well done (the on time, within budget sort of thing), getting their commensurate raise and promotion, and if “doo-doo” hits the fan because the job did not goes as upper management expected, they blame everyone else for not putting forth the required effort to ensure the job’s success. In this way they end up looking good no matter. Micro-managers will never write or sign anything so they can never be tied directly to any commitments unless the outcome is positive, and anything you may have heard them say will always be your misunderstanding/misinterpretation unless it also has a positive result. This style of management was personified by former a president known as “Slick Willy,” the politician in the Teflon suit.
Dharmadee(03/12/2006)
2 comments! Bumped - Leave them off. 2 months is nothing in this economy. Say you were taking a class in "Business Ethics" or something. (you really were...) I know the drill about the dressing provocatively, etc. I really could play that, I have even been propositioned. I just would not be able to live with myself, it makes me sick. Who needs these clowns? Drop them off your list and out of your life.
Worker Bee - You are very insightful. Have you considered taking management classes yourself? Just for once, I wish they would promote someone like you.
It is what it is(03/13/2006)
I am in a micromangement situation where everything I do and my coworkers do is micromanaged.
You have 2 choices: Grin a nd bare it or quit.
Thas it.
trying to recover(03/14/2006)
Listen here another manager. The only thing going on at upper level management is more mircromanagement training. Those of you who are managers and supervisors are not smarter or more informed, you have just chosen to take those positions for whatever shortcomings you may have in your life or in your personalities. When you get these positions you wear them on your foreheads like a child would a sticker and you totally forget about compassion for people and become heartless robots for a cause which only leads to ulcers, high blood pressure or alcoholism. But, oh don't forget the large ego to boot!
The supervisor who fired me shared things with me about "higher level", kept me informed until I became a threat to her and she saw that she would no longer be able to "control me". You people need to get a clue!
Buckeye luck(06/28/2006)
I suggest that you go to the plant manager and suggest that you go with your boss and a few HR or other staff members to go see TOM PETERS, KEN BLANCHARD, or MARKUS BUCKINGHAM or check out the Luminary Series. My boss and his bosses and I all went to see this and learned that a boss doesn't have to be breathing down your neck. And they don't. My bosses are really great to work for. They let you get your work done and they help you when you ask for it. Just stay focused and they notice. Don't spend the entire day concentrating on impressing them. Impress them by doing your job and they normally leave you alone... at least that's how it works at my job. No butt kissing necessary.
Corporate Doormat(07/10/2006)
I've had micromanagers all my life and hated it. They would actually make me commit to a deadline to get their job done. I rarely met the deadlines and I was an administrative assistant, so it wasn't as if I had to complete a tax form or something like. Phones would ring, other co-workers would come by and ask questions, stuff happens. I was fired for incompetence!!!
My next job I finally wised up. I would beat them to the punch and would report to them every 30 minutes how I was doing on a project or multiple projects.
One day my boss said to me that my constant interruptions were preventing her from getting her work done. (Duh, you're interruptions were preventing me from getting my work done I thought). She decided that at the end of each day approximately 1/2 hour before quitting time I would bring her up to speed on what was happening and she would answer any questions I might have also. I told her that was a great idea, we will continue it this way until further notice. (I made it seem like it was her idea). I only wish I had thought of this sooner. Try it it may work. Also note to everyone out there. Women are the most notorious for micromanaging. I guess it's an ego problem.
C - -(07/12/2006)
One of my many micro managing dim bulbs had the nerve to put the following phrase in my evaluation: Has taken up too much supervisory time....blah....blah. -- Well Duh!
meself(08/13/2006)
Started 2 days ago in a gvt agency. Was not "oriented" or given any information regarding rules/regs/protocal, etc. The lead (micromanager) I observed had a "sign in sheet, which included telling of people's break times, lunch times, etc. I have no problem in working a day which is actually 10-1/2 hours Mon thru Fri and 4-1/2 hours on Sat, which amounts to a work week of 54.75 hrs.
The micromanager had a meeting in the department in which the micromanager made demeaning comments about people in attendance, but did not name each person. I had just been assigned to the position and felt extremely uncomfortable to hear the mgr make negative comments in front of the person's peers. I felt the micromanager's goal was to humiliate and demean the first person. The micromanager did not quit, but made 2 or 3 more demeaning comments about the unit's personnel and included the management staff. As a new employee, I felt anxious (scared) by the micromanager's behavior.
The work is performed in a gvt agency and the sign-in/sign-out system is unique to the micromanager's group of about 30 people. There are approximately 400 other people in various positions throughout, but only in the micromanager's department are employees
"required" to be accountable (a gvt buzz word) by informing on themselves, which includes bathroom breaks.
I probably will address the micromanager head-on, but have been asked by other employees in the unit to withhold my confrontation as they are fearful of retaliation. My fellow workers express their terror and fears the micromanager will write a 2 or 3 page negative comment sheet on them.
I do not want to be a part of this Gestapo-type of management. I do not want to hurt the other people in the unit. WHAT WOULD OTHER PEOPLE DO?
Thank you for any assistance.
C - -(08/13/2006)
Wellcome to public employment. You may have to grin and bear it and carefully feel you way around until you can transfer to another department. Step lightly - micromanagers don't like it when one of the crew jumps ship. Most workers without influence have to start at a bad department. That's where the vacancies are. Now the real artistry is to move to a better department after you survive the trial period. I am somewhat surprised that you did not start your employment with an orientation session after being finger printed and chosing an insurance plan etc.
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