Work For a Micromanager? Here’s How to Cope:
Frequently peers over your shoulder. Constantly checking on your work. Keeping a too-tight grip on the intricacies of payroll operations. If this sounds familiar, you may be working for a micromanager — and you wouldn’t be alone. In a recent Accountemps survey, 59 percent of workers interviewed reported working for such a supervisor at some point in their career.
A micromanager has a negative effect on workplace morale and output. In the same survey, 68 percent of employees who had worked for a micromanager said it dampened their spirits, and 55 percent said the poor management style hampered the group’s workplace productivity. Here are three steps you can take to maintain your sanity — and to manage your micromanager:
- Gain your boss’s confidence
Showing your supervisor you are dependable, capable and successful when acting autonomously can go a long way in the fight to earn independence at work. Even small acts — showing up early, paying extra attention to details and helping coworkers without being asked — can help you gain a boss’s trust. A micromanager thrives on catching employees in the act of breaking rules, so don’t give your boss any reasons for suspicion. - Keep your boss informed, early and often
Good communication is key to keeping a micromanager at bay. In other words, provide preemptive status updates, weekly summary emails and other check-ins before your boss asks for them. Doing so will help her feel more at ease with your time management and organizational skills. - Earn a positive reputation
Making a name for yourself with other coworkers and managers can help your boss begin to trust you more. Your good standing with other company leaders will help build your reputation as a responsible and efficient employee, and that reputation may influence the micromanager.
As you gain the micromanager’s confidence, you may notice him or her starting to ease up on the minutiae. Continue to meet your goals and communicate effectively, and you’ll be well on your way to better relationship with your micromanager —and possibly even to turning her into a macromanager.
Accountemps, a Robert Half company, is the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm for temporary accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals. The staffing firm has more than 345 locations worldwide. More resources, including online job search services and the Accountemps blog, can be found at accountemps.com.