The MICRO manager !

The Micro- Manager's Disney-land

We all have worked with those. The one who manages "your" business more than managing the business itself. The KPIs bound, the one who wants things done their way or the highway. The objectives that are set to their pride, and to their pleasure. Are they that bad though?

It depend really on the organizations culture. Some organizations claim flexibility while having rigid processes and KPIs that force managers to be aggressive with their approaches (although not an excuse) but some managers cannot really handle the pressure well so act accordingly and just get the job done through directing and imposing.

In the best form of words that I could find; They can suck every ounce of ambition, creativity and innovation out of you leaving you restless, frustrated, annoyed and angry all at the same time, working under a micro-manager. Always having be red lined on your actions and restricted from doing things your way to get the job done. Rather, always waiting for what "He/ She" wants.

These micros if I may call them, roam with fixed mindsets. they rely on a specific decision making process that is actually very easy to predict but hard to follow consequently really hard for them to respond to change easily, therefore if you want to make it through to such types of managers, just understand that process and you'll just follow that framework, although decision making is situational and adaptable and with teams involved it is a collaborative approach but in a micros 's land, it's all about how THEY do it.

There is no magic land in this Disney. Micros usually want you to always check in before taking on an action or decision, so I guess we are ruling out trusting the team. So next time you want to take a decision and in doubt in how he would do it, just go ask. So get ready for some baby sitting, and probably you should also consider before you go to the bathroom, ask first ! because being away from your desk too long (in the case of diarrhea or anything of that sort) may affect your "Score Card". 

Make sure you know exactly the ground rules that they consider as violations. If you don't, then you should be prepared to get used to tolerating the below commonly known thrillers:

1. Make it at 9 and leave at 5 no less, maybe stay after 5 with no overtime but never come after 9 or leave before 5 regardless the output or value you are producing.
2. Breaks are part of your bathroom time, you're always on a clock so make sure to take it easy on the Mexican food.
3. Your sense of things wont matter if they conflict the framed mind of the micro man.

I can go on, but to cut the micros some slack, not all teams are mature enough to be self organizing and dependable. oh wait, that is the job of the micro to make sure his team members are properly coached and mentored to become mature and dependable. It is very important to understand that maturity does not come from extreme discipline measures, it comes from respect and space to liberate our thoughts, feelings and ambitions in calculated ways with shared responsibility and accountability empowered as teams and empowered by accountability.

People comprise 70 to 90 % of the workforce still, till robots take over in the next 10 years or maybe less. So the micro is up for a surprise that an actual micro chip will mange his job to a level of detail that they can never reach. Any leader or forefront of a team should understand that no one is safe in today's world no matter the industry, so the ones you micro manage could be the reason that you are safe later. Their energy, ambition and creativity may actually help you reach levels of development you could never imagine no matter how senior you are.

Piece of advice to the micro, If you have aggressive goals, objectives and KPIs enforced by your management, don't feel that you have to do the same to your people. Cascade to them what you have been given and challenged, and together come up with the best way to navigate through them. Make sure they understand the value behind each goal, objective or KPI and why it is being enforced, and together find the best approach that fits the culture of your team. With that you grow transparency, trust, collaboration, shared responsibility and Empathy. Trust me IT WORKS !

We are all on a mission to make a living and progress through life and through our ambitions and dreams no matter what they are. Be a reason for the prosperity and progress of others. Make sure they add value to themselves before the organizations in achieving levels of intelligence and humility. This only happens through mentorship, Teaching and Coaching with all their differences. Don't be a micro, be a person of values and principles that compliment others, an organization can downsize you at any point, don't let the fear of your losing your job lead to others losing their will to live.

Kr~

This article is published as part of The Agile Business Development Diaries -AMOP-