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Understanding Paranoid Incompetent Micromanagers in IT Environment
(IT Control Freaks)

 Paranoid Incompetent Micromanagers  (PIMM) as a special type of corporate psychopath

Note 1: Paranoid incompetent micromanagers (PIMM), who successfully combine tight control of minute details/procedures used in performing assignments with toxic incompetence are classic case of corporate psychopaths and are often called "control freaks" (CF). This category of corporate psychopaths represents really nasty beasts of IT jungles who tend to completely paralyze their victims.  They are completely different from PHB on Dilbert cartoons and in many way are close to narcissistic managers.

In this set of pages that include

• Understanding Micromanagers and Control Freaks
• Fighting Paranoid Incompetent Micromanagers and Control Freaks
• Documenting Micromanager Behavior
• Communication with Corporate Psychopaths
• Coping with the toxic stress in IT environment
• The micromanagment-induced anger trap

we will mainly address this menace. 

Note 2: Good advice about the topic is difficult to come by and depends on your concrete situation: take any recommendations with a grain of salt.

Maliciously incompetent micromanager (PIMM) is one of the worst choices of boss the life can give you.  Not only PIMM tries to control every little detail of every little project they assign to you, instead of giving you the job and leaving you to do it. They often tend to be very process-oriented, and usually will bog you down in tons of useless documentation.

Micromanagers are  simultaneously a special type of corporate psychopaths and a special type of addicts. As the page Toleration of Workplace Bullies aptly put it:

Are you a micromanager? "Who me? No of course not. I'm thorough. I'm competent. Ok, so I am a little methodical. That's not bad. Is it?"

Micromanagers like many addicts, alcoholics, rageaholics, fanatics, etc. are the last person on the planet to recognize their addiction is in controlling others. The compulsion to look over your employee's shoulders has nothing to do with being meticulous or careful it has everything to do with control. Yes you. That's right I'm talking to you El Presidente. Your employees are calling you much worse. For example, ruler, extremist, bureaucrat, tyrant, bully, persecutor, tormenter. And trust me, those are the nice names. People who micromanage do so because they are the ones who feel unsure and self-doubting.

You need to study those pages as they are very relevant to the topic. Like any psychopath they are bullies and over-controlling is just one and very effective method of intimidation.

Like many other addicts - whether alcoholics or workaholics or narcoaddicts, they fail to realize and admit that they are addicts - their addiction is in controlling others.  But what makes micromanagers especially dangerous is pervasive paranoia. 

An unmistakable sign of paranoia is continual mistrust which  simultaneously is the most distinctive feature of any micromanager.  Paranoid managers are suspicious, touchy, humorless, quick to take offense and slow to forgive, self-righteous, argumentative, often litigious. Prefer to keep distance and avoid any intimacy; often they seem tense, cold and brusque. Paranoid personalities find causal connections everywhere; for them nothing is coincidental.

All PIMM are bullies but the reverse is not true: not all bullies are PIMM. Still both types of psychopaths have a distinct a tendency toward sadism and derive perverse gratification from harming others. They like to hurt, frighten, tyrannize. They do it for a sense of power and control, and will often only drop subtle hints about what they are up to. At the same time they polish their aggressive, domineering manner in such a way to disguise any intimidation as legitimate corporate behavior.

PIMM often see "improper behavior" (their favorite term) in innocuous behavior of subordinates and irrelevant events.  Even joke might be an "improper behavior". They are constantly on guard, searching for hidden motives and threats. Usually they are hypersensitive to critique (and not without the reason as their are incompetent or most often grossly incompetent)  and often take offense where none is intended. Fear of exposure of paranoid micromanager is blended into a pattern of pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent. That's why paranoid micromanagers rarely come forward to seek help from subordinates. At least direct help.

Sometimes this type of corporate psychopath pride themselves on their rationality and objectivity when in reality there is none.  This is more typical of women PIMM who feel that they are different from other women (and they really are). An inability to trust, doubts about others' loyalty, distortion and fabrication, misinterpretation, and bearing grudges unnecessarily are hallmarks of the disorder. Pathological and instinctive aggressive counter-attack, the obsessive need to control others is also a prominent feature. They like to collect evidence on subordinates.

It is paranoia that makes PIMM addicted to control and power in a compulsive drive for gaining success. This addiction for control makes micromanagers ask for status, data and reports from their subordinates more often than is needed for constructive intervention.  They pervert those management tools and convert then into torture chamber.

A very interesting feature of PIMM is that they are more interested in the way things are done and less in the results achieved (pathologic procedure orientation). They tend to be over-involved in trivialities and paperwork people's work, while losing strategic direction of the projects and essentially abandoning leadership. In a sense extremes meet. Like in case of laissez fair [do nothing]  managers  they completely lose the ball and projects often fail from the lack of leadership.  If they don't that's because there are still competent subordinates who can correct even gross blunders of their bosses while suffering abuse in return.

All-in-all micromanagement is a pathological reaction of paranoia and associated feelings of insecurity and distrust. Being incompetent PIMM rightly feels that that his position is threatened but he/she has no constructive ways to react to this threat. Instead the reaction became highly pathological: gatekeeping (blocking all alternative information flows that does not directly comes from the manager), making all important decisions himself and at the same time requiring frequent detailed reports and data, obsessive preoccupation with procedural details (project plans seems to be the favorite pasture). Further, such manager while in completely basic in theirs technical skills (often grossly incompetent with the level of over-promoted secretary) are unable to understand technical discussions and distinguish good suggestions from bad. To compensate this gross inadequacy they try to over-procedurally everything hoping that this will guarantee making the right decision and prevent exposing their gross incompetence.

This page is written as a self-help material for those who need to buy some time or are unwilling or incapable to leave ASAP.  It is important to understand that it such situation you cannot hide in your cubicle; this is a war with hand combat in the trenches. Do not take your situation lightly. This is very serious and despite your best efforts you might be not able to survive for long.  Unless you are prepared on the level of Green Berets (which should become your role model anyway, at least as long as you stay in this environment ;-) you might not be in the same office the next month or even the next week. If you want to stay (for example buying your time to obtain some important certification) you might be suffering post traumatic stress syndrome like many solders who spent some time at the front lines: chronic stress destroys most humans really fast. 

Excel spreadsheet from a tool suddenly become instruments of torture. The kind of manager who requires a memo requesting permission to use the bathroom, before you leave your office. Another common characteristic, as pointed out by numerous posts here, is a lack of a clear vision of the end goal of a project.  They will change direction in the middle of the project, usually several times, and almost always reversing themselves at least once.

The true micromanager becomes so obsessed with details that "the big picture" becomes lost in a flood of insignificant tasks and documents to the extent that it impair the job in question. Essentially, a micromanager wants you to document and justify every action (after clearing it with him first, of course), do as you are told, leave the decisions to him, and so on. Moreover it also wants to justify his own inaction -- many PIMM are notoriously indecisive and will torture you getting unnecessary for the decision task, the decision that any competent manager can take on the spot.

Micromanagers are often using submissive subordinates (patsies) to create a hostile environment because they are too insecure to interact with worker bees themselves. You can expect that PIMM  all of a sudden, expect a from you stellar performance on the task that they never managed to explain or that was passed in grossly mangled form from one of their patsies. They also are pathologically economical in email and refuse to answer your emails or put anything in writing. Some are also technology agnostic despite working in IT environment and refuse to implement basic IT productivity tools like trouble tickets processing software (helpdesk or a bug tracking system).  Actually you never work "with" a micromanager and you, probably should never work "for" one longer then absolutely necessary.  It is very dangerous to work for PIMM for a long time because he/she will eventually make you mad, intolerant, obstructive, physically or mentally ill, or insubordinate.

But one of the most distinct feature of PIMM is their obsession with extracting from you endless stream of  useless reports that supposly are needed to make some minor decision (which they just cannot make, anyway).

Do not expect help from HR, they are instrument of management and as such inclined to swipe the dirt under the carpet.  IT is often thought of as a dead expense anyway -- not seen as a potential revenue stream generator so the instances of nepotism and protectionism substantially improve chances of substandard people to fill those management positions.  As for some unknown reason percentage of PIMM among women is statistically higher. Actually in the animal world female predators are considerably more dangerous then male predictors of the same species. This is true both for scorpions and for lions.  In this sense affirmative gender-based promotion to management might have an interesting side effect on IT environment.

Remember that the person who is micromanaging you is your boss. It is prudent to consider a micromanaging boss to be a special type of corporate psychopath as he usually readily exhibiting traits that are destructive for human relations even in mild situation. That returns us to the question of where you should stay.  Moreover that means that any attempt to correct the bad behavior of the micromanager are doomed and will be simply perceived as a hostile actions by the PIMM.

Please be aware that they are special type of corporate psychopath s as such do not know such thing as remorse: perceiving a threat the micromanager will take steps to have you punished or even terminated to regain control. So you should not believe naive recommendation of some papers or books to confront micromanager and try somehow communicate your working problem to him: going this path you need to account for a possibility find yourself unemployed or in a more unpleasant situation at work.  Generally you should be very skeptical about content of books and pages devoted to micromanagement: most do not understand this very complex phenomenon and completely omit the psychopathology part of the equation.  And dealing with psychopath is not for everybody.

As with any psychopath you became dependent of his irrational behavior so you need carefully study what makes this type of psychopath tick, what makes you want to explode, and develop some way to deal with them. Most PIMM are driven by by two powerful factors:

1. Their own insecurity and fear of failure and/or revelation of their incompetence.
2. Underling components of obsessive compulsive disorder: they are addicts with a very peculiar type of addition.

Chambers book in one of the better one on this topic and while he tries to sit between two chairs he still provide some more or less useful recommendation that can be very carefully experimented with. Do not consider him to be an ultimate guru and please be skeptical about each and every recommendation (the same is totally applicable to this page; this is a very complex topic). In this elaborate game of cat and mouse you need to rely on your own instincts of what works and what does not. Neither this page not any other Web page or book provide ready made, 100% reliable recipes for dealing with this type of psychopath.  But they definitely can help to avoid making the most typical mistakes.

It is important to keep in mind that as a rule PIMM suffers from paranoia and/or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).  Traditionally military and retail traditionally suffered from micromanagers most. For example, in one of recent stories (Generals versus Rumsfeld) LA Times wrote that  Rumsfeld can be considered to be classical micromanager (semi-competent or incompetent but extremely arrogant and over-controlling functionary).

Generals versus Rumsfeld - Los Angeles Times

Since the day he took command of the Pentagon, Rumsfeld has been using his famous "8,000-mile screwdriver" to tilt the civil-military balance his way. According to his critics, he is Robert McNamara reborn — an arrogant micromanager, contemptuous of soldierly expertise and certain of his own infallibility.

Especially telling, in their eyes, was Rumsfeld's treatment of Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army's chief of staff, who before the Iraq invasion warned that the occupation was likely to pose large challenges. Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz immediately retaliated. For speaking unwelcome truths, Shinseki found himself pilloried, humiliated and marginalized. In the eyes of his fellow generals, Shinseki became a martyr.

In IT environment PIMM flourish due to stagnation and bureaucratization of many departments. Paradoxically due to downsizing and offshoring micromanagers had found in IT especially fertile ground.   In addition to creating stress and discontent among employees, the micromanager's style has three distinct features:

• They inhibit your development,  thus arresting your growth both profession and as a person. Dealing with micromanager is like being put in a cage in the zoo with some wild animal. This social environment does not suit very well for most humans. As for professional side he spoils so much of your time with his useless or harmful  requests for paperwork and overcontrolling that almost nothing is left from each working day.

  There is no room left for advancement of the subordinates, as the micro-manager-boss does not relinquish any authority. He delegates tasks but not responsibility.  This gives rise to resentment among employees. Also subordinates are so afraid of the intimidation that they no longer take enough interest in work.  Creativity dries up. Motivation drops with plummeting morale. Productivity becomes the obvious victim. Everything became fake. 

  You can counter this with relentless quest for self-education and obtaining additional certifications. One of the best possible moves is to  start attending some evening classes. Use your time wisely during working day reserving some chunk for self-education.
   

• They delegates nothing of consequence. Generally authority and responsibility are like bonds and interest: one is impossible without the other. PIMMs invented a new financial instrument: a  derivative instrument called "pure responsibility without any authority" :-).  Because the PIMM often punishes mistakes learn to hide mistakes and avoid taking risks. The micromanagement style creates and expect drones ("yes men" or "yes women" ) and you need to mimicry this. If you don't mind, you will soon discover that this is the easiest and safest way to go along with micromanagers. 
   
• They are often flirting with the hazards of overload for themselves and, of course, for their staff.   In is important to understand that there is no free lunch and micromanagement="staff overload". While loading ton of useless tasks on subordinates they also often suffer from overload themselves. Usually they try to do it all  and control everything personally. Thus they need to put the extra hours and sometimes weekends or other scheduled days off.  You can often use this overload to your advantage as it diminishes the possibility of "total control" with which micromanagers terrorize staff. Wise tactic is to try to increase the level of overload for them whenever possible (for example by spamming them with all kind of superficially relevant documents and emails)  so that they have less time controlling you and at the same time an illusion that they control the situation tightly. 

Micromanagement is like high blood pressure they usually cause: it varies in intensity. But despite large variety in intensity of some "over controlling behaviors"  (for example there is a type of micromanages concentrate on micromanagement of time, the other of micromanagement of the work by proceduralazing every activity to death but not care about time that much and do not control deadlines too tightly) they all have several common characteristics that I will try to summarize based on my own experience as well as available literature (Chambers book is probably the best of what I read).

I am still working on the list, so it is far from being orthogonal, and features overlap or even repeat:

1. Remember that PIMMs are a special type of psychopath: "corporate psychopath".  Not all micromanagers are corporate psychopath and not all corporate psychopath are micromanagers. Still those two categories considerably overlap, the fact that escaped Chambers. Incompetence dramatically increases the chances the a particular micromanager is a corporate psychopath. Paranoia makes this certain.
   
   While it’s not a diagnostic category found in the DSM IV (the therapist’s bible for diagnostic purposes) an exaggerated emphasis on control is part of a cluster of behaviors that can be labeled as compulsive and generally characterized by perfectionism, orderliness, workaholic tendencies, an inability to make commitments or to trust others and a fear of having their flaws exposed.
    
   • Most obvious of all they are consummate liars, being unfruitful about almost everything (even inconsequential things most people wouldn't waist time and energy lying about). They are insincere, although often appearing to be sincere (especially to superiors and to those with little experience dealing with them).
      
   • Psychopath use language somewhat differently from normal people. In corporate environment their language is more formal, more infested with corporate buzzwords and sometimes leaves strange feeling of being "automatically generated" as it lacks personality or humor.
      
   • They are social chameleons. They can read people well and they are able to identify button they need to push people. Not all psychopath are smooth operators though. Some psychopath lay the charm on too thick, coming across as glib, superficial and unconvincing. Some of them do have enough social skills and education to interact successfully with IT professionals and instead rely on direct threats, coercion, intimidation to dominate the others and get what they want.
      
   • Important characteristic of psychopath is their complete, ultimate, borderless irresponsibility
     • Ability to avoid taking responsibility for things that go wrong; instead they blame others. They usually have impressive supply of excuses.
     • They tend not to keep promises if this is inconvenient to them and break promises without any remorse.
        
   • They try to manipulate other people and are usually successful at least with their superiors. Often have typical "kiss up, kick down" style.  They do not spend much energy on small fish.
      
   • They believe they can protect themselves by staying in control of every aspect of their lives, including their relationships.  That's why Micromanagers take the need for control to new heights of absurdity. for them this is coping mechanism that helps to relieve anxiety.
      
   • For micromanagers "the term empowerment means only sharing of responsibility with others, but not the sharing of authority. They exercise control by requiring that others receive their approval for even minor decisions, changes, and courses of action....
      
   • Deep down, these people are terrified of being vulnerable. underneath of tough appearance is usually a mountain of unhappiness. These people are riddled with anxiety, fear, insecurity, and anger.
      
2. A micromanager does not trust anybody. This creates a negative feedback loop where all employees becomes demoralized and stop trusting each other because they understand that manager doesn't trust them.  That destroys team solidarity and former team became a pack of frightened and suspicious toward each other animals.
    
3. Micromanagers ("micromanagers") classic survival strategy is to surround themselves with staff members who mirror their personality and work style.  They destroy the teams extremely effectively converting them into a bunch of hostile toward each other indented servants. Staff who are different often feel devalued and especially stressed in such a setting

   In the beginning, you made snap decisions, you issued commands, employees and associates flocked to be under your umbrella. But then one day, your crowd of fans started shrinking, and as your audience grew smaller, the logical thing to do was, as the kings of yore did, surround yourself with a court of well-wishers and groupies.

   There are two types of subordinates that micromanager like:
    

   • Over-agreeable.  These are “yes” people who have a powerful desire to be likes and appreciated. They never say no to anything and are far too uncomfortable to voice an opposing opinion. They are often overwhelmed with too many projects since they never say no to anything and are always positive in approach. These people can be problematic in the workplace when they agree with one person’s approach and then also agree with an opposing position from someone else.
      
   • Brownnosers.  Also known as bootlickers, people with this personality type believe that the shortest way to the top is on the coattails of the boss. They will exhibit a complete devotion and dedication to those in charge and can act as spires that bring information to the micromanager. They will conceal the truth about their tactics or any of the boss’ activities even when faced with the facts. They live in a constant self-reinforcing denial state that is perpetuated by the sense of importance bosses get from them.
      
4. Micromanagers are more then just incompetent perfectionists as quantity turns into quality:
    
   1. They have pathological, extreme detail orientation (also known as perfectionism).
       
   2. They have never been top professional in their field and often can be classified as completely incompetents. The latter fuels anxiety.
       
5. Expect relentless criticism of your work and extreme forms on NIH syndrome. A micromanaging boss, by definition, robs an employee of independence and freedom to do the task. Every speck of work has to be put under a managerial microscope and, usually, subjected to endless rounds of procedural justification and/or criticism as a micromanager painstakingly deconstructs the job until, finally, its exactly as it would be had he done it himself.
    
   • Note: There's a fine line between mentoring and micromanaging and micromanaging is often disguises as mentoring by PIMM.  Still you might need to take a close look at the quality of your work. the key question is  whether manager is teaching you important skills or keeping you from making costly mistakes. Competent micromanagers are so rare breed that they are not discussed here.
      
6. There are 'methods behind the madness.'  If your boss is a micromanager, your life can be a seemingly endless misery of humiliation and frustration. But there is some order behind this sordid situation. You can expect two things:
    
   1. Typical micromanager hobby is to convert performance feedback in torture chamber. Micromanagers take good  management practices to extremes and covert them into their opposites. interferes with employees' ability to do their jobs properly, while creating undue stress for them. Outstanding examples are evident in the area of performance feedback.
       
      • All employees need regular feedback on performance, though some need more detailed feedback more frequently than others.
         
      • From the micromanager, however, feedback tends to be constant and detailed and often excessively focused on procedural minutia rather than on overall performance, quality and results.
         
   2. When you  go to work in the morning you should know well that that yesterday's decisions (if any) may very well have changed today by your favorite PIMM. That means that sometimes you can accept unacceptable things from PIMM banking that he/she change them shortly.  This expectations poker is that part of life under PIMM.  Usually they have pretty short attention span.
       
7. Chambers define five typical behaviors of a micromanager. Most of them deeply rooted in insecurity:
    
   • Micromanagers exercise raw power.  They like to abuse subordinates. They love to flex their muscles-asserting their power and authority just because they can. While unable to subordinate themselves, they control others with an uncompromising sense of entitlement and self-interest.  Ironically, targets of abusive bosses tend to be high achievers, perfectionists and workaholics. Often bully bosses try to mask their own insecurities by striking out.
      
   • Micromanagers dictate time.
     • They like to control and manipulate others' time.
     • They don't trust people to assess their own workload, so they routinely dictate priorities and distort deadlines.
     • And while they guard their own time with an iron fist, they're notorious for interrupting others, misusing and mismanaging meetings and perpetuating crises.
        
   • Micromanagers control not results, but the procedure (how work gets done) They want everything to be done their way. That's why they call "my way of highway" type of bosses. They dismiss others' knowledge, experience and ideas-no matter how good-then hover over them to make sure they're doing things "right."
      
   • Micromanagers require undue approvals.
     They share responsibility, but not authority. As the "bottlenecks" of the workplace, they allow no one to move forward without their approval-even on routine or time-sensitive matters.
      
   • Micromanagers demand frequent and unnecessary reports.
     They are driven to know what's going on. They monitor workers to death-requiring a stream of needless reports that focus on activity over outcomes.
      
   • The key shortcoming of the micromanager is inability to delegate anything. Delegation is a primary management skill, essential to effective management, but the micromanager seems unable to delegate properly. Concerning delegation, the micromanager:
     • Cannot delegate effectively or delegate at all
     • Often hands out only the easy, boring or dirty tasks while delegating nothing of interest or importance
     • May delegate, but put the employee in a position of deciding nothing of significance without prior approval
     • May hand out work, supposedly delegating, but hover instead, providing detailed direction, dictating methods rather than providing proper preparation, making the employee responsible for results and not allowing he or she to figure anything out and learn by doing.
     • May hand out a task, but pull it back at the first sign of trouble, failing to provide the employee with a condition essential to growth and development: the reasonable freedom to fail.
        
8. A micromanager are almost always gatekeepers. They want to make sure that all communication into and out of his team goes through via the gates the he/she controls:
    
   • Attempt is made to isolate his/her team members so that they have no contact with anyone else in the company and their only knowledge of what the corporate objectives is coming from the Gatekeeper.
      
   • Mistrust and headiness dominates among staff.
      
   • The Gatekeeper manipulates both his team and other teams by distorting the information that passes through him. He will tell other teams that his team is doing things that they are not. Since there is only one source for the information, it is difficult for other teams to know if there are differing opinions on an issue.
      
   • If someone on his team attempts to contact someone outside of the team, they are disciplined by the Gatekeeper.
      
   • The Gatekeeper prefers that few in the company even know of his team´s existence because it makes it that much easier to control the flow of communication.
      
   • He delays putting projects into production as long as possible because doing so would require him to spend more time manning his Gate.
      
   • Start looking for a job immediately. Try to  blindside them while trying to find a new job.  Here is one relevant quote

     "Just do what I did, I bided my time working for an impossible boss (he was the IT director) and I had worked my way up from being a junior support to be the support supervisor (they didn't have a support manager). He wouldn't make decisions, constantly gave conflicting instructions (even when the originals were in writing).

     I lasted 18 months in total for the company, the last 6 were as the supervisor. Then one day I walked and he called me for a meeting to discuss his next 'great plan', I handed him my resignation, he didn't see it coming. I must confess I took immense satisfaction doing this to him but not the company or my co workers.

     I keep in touch from time to time but my old boss has not said a single word to me since that day."

9. The company is usually part of the problem and not a part of the solution. 
    
10. Micromanagers are usually "Schemers" and their needs must be met at the expense of all others.
     
    • Despite being self-righteous, rigid, secretive or volatile, The Schemer avoids taking direct responsibility – the earmark of a true control artisan.
       
    • The Schemer will assure you that he or she wants to share power, cultivate other leaders and so on. But when decision time comes, the phrase you hear most often is, "yes, but..." The Schemer constantly withholds full authority, moves the goal line, and then berate subordinates.
       
11. Micromanagers are never accountable. Their techniques of control are so deft that they stay out of accountability's reach. Who can take someone to task for being sick? How can you challenge someone who is only trying to be helpful? If no one ever does anything right, how can it be wrong to seize control?
     
    • I have met many other controllers, avoiders who control through constant subject changes, seducers who control through cuteness, superheroes who control through high achievement, and intellectuals who control through micro-analysis of all experience. The variations are countless. But it's the unifying characteristic of all controllers that is fascinating is that they are never accountable.

    It's really a tremendous waste of energy, of course, because you can never fully control someone else, at least, not forever. Letting go of the control urge frees up energy and makes the family business ownership world much more comfortable and enjoyable for all.

Chambers in his book on micromanagement suggest the formula: Micromanagement = Fear + Comfort + Confusion. This formula helps him to bring order to the variety of destructive managerial behaviors that fall under the term “micromanagement”, including:

• not listening to others,
• exercising power indiscriminately,
• feeding on the failure of subordinates, delegating blame,
• personalizing disagreements,
• imposing arbitrary deadlines,
• mismanaging meetings,
• delegating responsibility while keeping a vise grip on authority.

Chambers also tries to suggest a simple classification of different types of micromanagers:

1. First, control of methodology, or managers who insist on having the work done their way. This, says Chambers, is the essence of micromanagement—the behavior of exercising relentless control over the method by which work gets done—and it ranks number one on his micromanagement survey.
    
2. The second behavior is control and manipulation of time—an especially intense and frustrating micromanagement behavior.
    
3. Third, is excessive monitoring and reporting.
    
4. Finally, dysfunctional delegation and collaboration, which takes the form of excessive demands for approval and an inability of the manager to subordinate self.

Those four are distinct behaviors and they can be present in various combinations. For example there are micromanagers that tightly control methodology (procedure freaks) and require excessive reporting (documentation freaks) but do not practice excessive monitoring and do not control time (pure control freaks). 

Micromanagers destroy their staff both individually (as human beings primarily by destroying self-respect) and as a social organism. In no time instead of a team you have a pack of stray dogs.  Among typical negative consequences of micromanagement we can mention:

• resentment,
• extinguished initiative,
• abandonment,
• obsolescence—personal and group,
• creation of the “disloyal opposition”

Excessive demands for approval extinguish risk taking, fail to develop others and prepare them to take over the micromanager’s job, leave people unprepared for crises, bring potential for abuse, impose costs on customers, and result in underutilization of assets.

Excessive and dysfunctional monitoring and reporting involves more specific flaws that include an inability or unwillingness to establish and communicate expectations, monitoring through back channels; being unsupportive of telecommuting and working from remote locations; and monitoring the wrong things—being blinded by activity (also known as “input bias”), restrictions on process, monitoring short-term costs vs. outcome or long-term impact, and monitoring limited indicators rather than outcomes.

• First of all PIMM are psychopath, a very important fact that escaped Chambers; obsessive desire to control for them is compulsive additional and leitmotif of their existence: Micromanagers are real control freaks not distinguishable from alcoholics and narco-addicts.  Control for them is final and ultimate goal.
• Typically they instantly lose sight of goals and are immerse themselves and their subordinates in creation of procedure-oriented nonsense. And the tragic thing is that this procedure-building activity that will be used as a yard-stick for evaluating subordinate performance.  Welcome to the land of socialism, comrades.
• Need to justify their pitiful existence despite lack of expertise:  Micromanagers, similar to bullies at schools, seek faults in others to justify their own existence. They also want to introduce and attempt to push techniques designed for the sole purpose of control. They really love SLAs

Fighting micromanager is not for everybody and requires careful planning, studying the enemy and a lot of courage.  The details are documented in a separate page. Among them:

• Document all communication, since micromanagers change opinion and directions frequently.  Document the toxic atmosphere they create and consult the lawyer so that you can be ready if disputes ends with your termination. that does not mean that you should go to court. It is not easy to prove that this is a discrimination.
• Learn to control your anger
• Study the art of communication  with micromanagers
• And last, but not least, yes, start looking for a new job.

Remember, generals are worthless without soldiers. And on that note, be a soldier, not a pawn!

Notes: Those pages are written by people for whom English is not a native language. Some amount of grammar and spelling errors should be expected. This is a Spartan WHYFF (We Help You For Free) site. It cannot replace the best teachers and the best books. The site contain some obsolete pages as it develops like a living tree... Some links on older pages are broken. Please try to use Google, Open directory, etc. to find a replacement link (see HOWTO search the WEB for details). We would appreciate if you can mail us a correct link. Search Amazon by keywords:     Open directory Research Index

Old News ;-)

[Jan 26, 2007] Management Fad Adoption: An Exploration of Three Psychogenic Influences Kerry David Carson Paula Phillips Carson University of Louisiana at Lafayette Patricia A. Lanier Southeast Missouri State University Ross D. Judice Acadian Ambulance & Air Med Services

A second type of neurotic leader identified by Kets de Vries (1994) is the suspicious type.  These managers feel like they can't trust anyone, so they are constantly on their guard.  Therefore, they are always preparing to retaliate against all assaults from menacing forces.  To help them prepare for assaults, they seek large inputs of information.  Because of their hypersensitivity, distrustfulness, and suspiciousness, they try to control their work environment by being over-involved in rules and details.

According to Westen & Shedler (1999), individuals with a paranoid personality disorder are hostile people who express anger out of proportion to the situation.  This anger is a result of their perception that others are trying to do them harm.  They tend to misinterpret others' intentions as malevolent, frequently getting into power struggles and arguments.  Once a conflict arises, the paranoid executive will tend to hold a grudge and be very critical of the other person, losing all capacity to see anything good in the other person.  Projecting unacceptable feelings onto others, they tend to come across as self-righteous and moralistic.  Once a major problem arises they see it as disastrous and unsolvable, but they won't confide their concerns to others for fear of betrayal.

The suspicious executive mistrusts everyone.  S/he can be described as intense, cynical, inflexible, and distrustful.  Because of their continuing paranoia, which is typically unjustified, suspicious personalities defend against any perceived threat--real or imagined.  Stubborn and rigid, they rarely relax or let up their guard.  

They maintain that hypervigilance is their key to survival.  Everyone in the organization is seen as a potential menace, so the suspicious executive keeps a safe distance from colleagues.  This distance makes interactions seem impersonal and callous.  They seem void of kindness, sentimentality, and compassion.  On the occasions when suspicious personalities exhibit humor, it is usually thinly veiled hostility--expressed in a stabbing and sarcastic manner (Carson & Carson, 1997; Carson & Carson, 1998).

Suspicious executives need to control in order to ensure their safety and security.  When they are not in charge, the suspicious personality feels vulnerable.  However, they hide such concerns because to expose weaknesses would give others an upper hand.  Therefore, the paranoid tries to conceal feelings of foreboding, tension, and distress.  They bluff their way through danger by acting fearless, inaccessible, and potentially vengeful.  To protect themselves, suspicious executives emphasize organizational structure, centralized power, environmental intelligence, and diversification (Kets de Vries & Miller, 1984). 

Management fashions are adopted by suspicious executives to reduce risk, increase control, and augment power.  Fashions are then dropped to cover up failed initiatives, thus avoiding criticism and attack (cf. Carson & Carson, 1997; Carson & Carson, 1998).

[Jan 22, 2007] Surviving and Thriving (At Work and At Home) Micromanagers Try to Manage Everything

February 01, 2006 ( www.beatyourowndrum.com  ) I have several other posts on Micromanagers in my September archives, so if your manager is a micromanager go check them out.

Micromanagers are insidious. I will not state this any other way, because I feel ALL micromanagers should be doing something else than managing. I am sure there is something that they are more qualified to do.

If you work "with" or "for" one, you are groaning right now. Actually you never work "with" a micromanager and you should never work "for" one.

Micromanagers do not allow you to work "with" them. They are either doing your job or telling you how to do it. Then when you do not do something exactly the way they tell you, watch out. So it is impossible to work "with" a micromanager.

It is also impossible to work "for" one, because it will eventually make you mad, intolerant, insolent, obstructive, physically or mentally ill, or insubordinate.

Micromanagers do not stay within their own domain because they subscribe to a fundamental principle. The entire office is their domain. Watch the micromanager in your office - every office has at least one. They will assign tasks to people they have no authority over. They will call meetings about issues that pertain to another manager's domain.

If you get assigned a task by someone who does not have authority to do so, go to your manager and discuss it. That is assuming your manager is NOT a micromanager. If s/he is a micromanager you should not be talking about anything you are not asked to talk about while you are out searching for your new job. I am being totally serious. It is like creating a feeding frenzy for sharks.

Give a micromanager an inch, they will take a mile and then some. If you are a manager and you just had something assigned to you by a micromanager that is your peer, ignore it. I would never confront the micromanager directly. You are asking for more trouble than you need to deal with. Usually if you ignore the request, (even after 6 attempts) the micromanager will find someone else to do it. After all the office is their domain and they know there are plenty of suckers who will obey.

In short, rule of thumb is:

Avoid any interaction with a micromanager at all costs. If you avoid them, they will avoid you.

Again if you report to one, you know what you should be doing.

[Jan 21, 2007] Improve your supervisor relationship and reduce stress - MayoClinic.com

Show respect. Even if your boss hasn't yet won your loyalty, he or she is still entitled to your respect. Your boss is responsible for your work and the work of your colleagues. That can be a significant burden. Try to understand the business from your boss's perspective. Try to treat him or her with the respect the position and the responsibility warrant.

[Jan 14, 2007] Creating Passionate Users BrainDeath by Micromanagement The Zombie Function

The most important function for a manager is X = -Y, where X is employee brain use and Y is degree of management. To use the horse whisperer's advice, The more you use your reins, the less they'll use their brains."

If you asked 100 managers which they'd prefer--employees who think, or mindless zombies who respond only (and exactly) as ordered, you'd get 100 responses of, "What a ridiculous question. We hire smart people and stay out of their way so they can do their jobs." And if you asked 100 managers to define their management style, none would claim to be micromanagers. Probe deeper, though, and the truth begins to emerge.

Ask managers if their direct reports can make decisions as well as the manager can, and they hesitate. Ask if the manager could step in at a moment's notice and perform the employee's job, and too many managers would say--with pride--"yes."

Do you have a micromanager? Are you a micromanager? Are all micromanagers clueless or and/or evil? Of course not. Most micromanagers I've known (or had) were driven by one or both of the following:

1) Not enough time
Taking the time to give employees the same data, knowledge, and skills needed to do things right can be a luxury many managers just can't afford. Or so they think. While it's oh so tempting to just step in and DO IT, micromanagement doesn't scale. Better to:
Take the time it takes [now] so it takes less time [later]."

2) Concern for quality
Micromanagers often believe that they know more, and more importantly -- care more. Often they're right. But it's a downward spiral--

Of course micromanagers don't actually create zombies--they simply inspire (or force) zombieism on the job. Follow those work zombies home, and their zombiness vanishes. Thier eyes light up, their brain kicks in, and their passion for playing with their kids, championing a cause, or just playing their favorite after-work hobby emerges. You see the side of them that micromanagement crushes.

[Jan 12, 2007] Can micromanagement be cured by Mike Toten Date:  

Aug 22, 2005 (workplaceinfo.com.au). As this series of articles on micromanagement has emphasised, micromanagers can be very tenacious people. Their management style is influenced by their fears, control mentality, personality and need for comfort, which are often very deeply ingrained. Progress with reducing their tendency to micromanage will be gradual and incremental, but it can be achieved.

... ... ...

• Collect information from others who are affected by the micromanager. It is best to encourage them to contribute openly to the performance management process, but if they prefer anonymity (which is often the case), corroborate their information with evidence from other people and add your own observations.
  If you tell a micromanager that 'someone' (anonymous) has complained, the manager is likely to form his/her own suspicions and confront the suspect. If you divulge a name, this is guaranteed to happen. They in turn may deny saying anything, in order to protect themselves, and your position is then undermined. When collecting evidence, take care to separate facts from personal agendas.
• 360-degree feedback tools can provide valuable collective data without revealing sources. If they are part of the organisation’s overall performance management system, even better, as the fact that all managers are evaluated simultaneously prevents a micromanager claiming that there is a witch hunt.
• Group discussions with other employees can help gather information, but be sure not to cross the line between evaluation and investigation/witch hunt. Micromanagers often have paranoid tendencies, so they will probably suspect or find out that you are up to something. A possible smokescreen is to evaluate several other managers in the same way at the same time.
• Direct confrontation with a micromanager may be necessary in 'crisis' situations, for example where several employees resign or threaten to do so, there is 'group anger' at a manager, or there are accusations of bullying. If this happens, try to make your approach respectful, non-personal and non-threatening.
• Presenting the perceptions of others is useful information that gives the micromanager less to defend. The focus is on the impact on others rather than what the manager actually does. You can present the issue as a need to change behaviour so that the perceptions by others will be more favourable. Point out that people have more influence over others if the others perceive them favourably.

... ... ...

What if none of this works?

Unfortunately, there are some cases where micromanagement arises from deep-seated personality traits. These managers may find it impossible to change their behaviour significantly. There are also others who, for whatever reason, are determined not to change.

Where this happens, there are two options:

1. Damage control. Take them out of the loop for some activities, in order to limit their interference and disruption. Change approval processes and reduce the need for them to work in collaboration with others. Be aware of any efforts to make themselves indispensable. These steps will probably harm their career prospects, but there are inevitable consequences for resisting improvements.
    
2. Removal from management role.

[Jan 11, 2007] Micromanagers mainly feel need for control - Cincinnati Business Courier

"Who, me? No, of course not. I'm thorough. I'm competent. OK, so I am a little methodical. That's not bad, is it?"

Micromanagers, like many addicts -- alcoholics, rageaholics, fanatics, etc. -- are the last people on the planet to recognize that their addiction is in controlling others. The compulsion to look over your employees' shoulders has nothing to do with being meticulous or careful -- it has everything to do with control.

Yes, you. That's right, I'm talking to you, El Presidente. Your employees are calling you much worse. For example, they might be calling you a ruler, extremist, bureaucrat, tyrant, bully, persecutor and tormenter. And trust me, those are the nice names. People who micromanage do so because they are the ones who feel unsure and self-doubting about their abilities.

[Jan 11, 2007] Self-Helpless True Tales of a Working Girl Does Workaholic = Micromanager

[Jan 10, 2007] My Way or the Highway Review

Unfortunately, it is an attitude still held many business owners. Even more unfortunately, this narrow-minded style of leadership approach has brought many of their businesses to a painful end.

The illusion of infallibility

That companies led by this type of leader more often than not come to bad ends should come as no surprise. Such leadership is the ultimate consequence of living and working in denial. While the business is floundering, the talent pool is heading south, and (somewhat self-fulfilling) rumors of failure are circulating. The boss is lashing out and blaming friend and foe that they are to blame for declining sales, increased expenses, cash-flow problems, poor advertising, lousy quality and that no one cares.

And the longer the list of problems, the longer the list of others to blame, from the banks to the unappreciative customers and employees.

But never the boss. And the attitude is understandable. After all, who took an idea, went to friends, family, investors and anyone who was willing to provide a bit of the stake? Who fought the odds and advice against starting the business? Who worried the first few months about not making it? Who beat back the creditors while getting established? Who pushed and prodded everyone to make it a success?

Why, you did, of course! No one has earned a better claim to infallibility than you.

Losing your Midas touch

But when the problems start, you desperately wonder why your golden touch is no longer working. Did Lady Luck withdraw her blessing, did your mojo run out, did you lose your personal good luck charm? Clearly, the gods must be conspiring against you.

In the beginning, you made snap decisions, you issued commands, employees and associates flocked to be under your umbrella. But then one day, your crowd of fans started shrinking, and as your audience grew smaller, the logical thing to do was, as the kings of yore did, surround yourself with a court of well-wishers and groupies.

Your commands are obeyed, and you tolerate no disagreement. After all, your genius created this empire. Who are these impudent, disloyal serfs to question your wisdom? But strangely, those commands that in the past led to greatness, don't seem to have the same magical effect. And of course, in your wisdom, you find fault not with the command but with the ineptitude of those who are supposed to be carrying out your wishes.

And when your employees and customers fail to remember and appreciate all you have done for them, what do you do? Fire a few folks, tell a few demanding customers to shop elsewhere and blame the latest group of liberals for creating a population that does not want to work and fails to recognize the heroism of the entrepreneurial class. As you approach the possibility of failure, it seems that higher powers have taken issue with your hubris and decided to clip your wings.

A shot at redemption

But like Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," there is still time for your redemption.

To begin with, listen to the prophets of the past who tell us that leadership to launch a company and leadership to administer a company are two very different creatures.

In the beginning it was all you. Now success demands teamwork. To expect blind faith and mindless employees is to live in another time. If you want loyalty, enthusiasm and a hard working group of guys and gals to build your business, promote them from serfs to knighthood. Ask their advice, get their opinions, remove any sense of killing the messenger and become the Vince Lombardi of your business.

Sadly, so many leaders of American commerce and industry have created a climate of fear and insecurity as employees worry about factory closings and the trend of job outsourcing. These bottom-line addicts treat employees -- a valuable resource -- as some expendable commodity. This is not the first time our corporate leaders have been accused of short-term thinking.

While your business is your life, working for you is part of the life of your employees. If you want a caring and committed work force who feel a genuine sense of belonging and partnership (that does not mean making the work place a social club), you'll have to relinquish the reins of total control and empower your employees.

If you want a team of employees that will complement you and make your business a success for everyone involved, hire wisely and focus on teamwork. A leader, skilled in managing for the most, brings the greatness out in his or her people and deposits it in the bank.

Paul Adams is Professor Emeritus of Business Administration at Ramapo College of New Jersey and the Author of "Fail Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful." E-mail: drfailproof@earthlink.net

[Jan 3, 2007] My Way or the Highway: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Micromanagement

Four out of five workers say they've been a victim of micromanagement. But what does the term really mean? In his very readable new book My Way or the Highway-the Micromanagement Survival Guide, author Harry E. Chambers writes, "Basically, micromanagement is the excessive, unwanted, counterproductive interference and disruption of people or things." It occurs when influence, involvement and interaction begin to subtract value from people and processes. It is the perception of inappropriate interference in someone else's activities, responsibilities, decision making and authority."

Chambers lists the five defining behaviors of a micromanager. Most of them deeply rooted in insecurity:

1. Micromanagers exercise raw power. 
   They love to flex their muscles-asserting their power and authority just because they can. While unable to subordinate themselves, they control others with an uncompromising sense of entitlement and self-interest.
    
2. Micromanagers dictate time.
   They like to control and manipulate others' time. They don't trust people to assess their own workload, so they routinely dictate priorities and distort deadlines. And while they guard their own time with an iron fist, they're notorious for interrupting others, misusing and mismanaging meetings and perpetuating crises.
    
3. Micromanagers control how work gets done.
   They want everything to be done their way. After all, the boss knows best-or so he or she believes. They dismiss others' knowledge, experience and ideas-no matter how good-then hover over them to make sure they're doing things "right."
    
4. Micromanagers require undue approvals.
   They share responsibility, but not authority. As the "bottlenecks" of the workplace, they allow no one to move forward without their approval-even on routine or time-sensitive matters.
    
5. Micromanagers demand frequent and unnecessary reports.
   They are driven to know what's going on. They monitor workers to death-requiring a stream of needless reports that focus on activity over outcomes.

Recommended Links

Note: A larger set of relevant links can be found in pages:

• The psychopath in the corner office
• Toxic managers and Toxic work envronment in IT

Overcontrolling Bosses Aren't Just Annoying; They're Also Inefficient by Jared Sandberg (WSJ)

Managing Groups and Teams-Team Personalities - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks

Rands In Repose Secret Titles

Innovation Creators Micromanagers & Bureaucracies Vs. Smart Teams

Innovation Creators Servant Leadership

Can micromanagement be cured by Mike Toten Date: 22/8/05  URL://http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au/nocookie/alert/2005/050822549.htm