You’re sitting at your desk, writing your 76th email for the morning, when you feel it – your boss lurking over your shoulder as you put the finishing touches on another “just checking to see where this is up to” email.

You slowly close your eyes. It’s time to initiate the emergency box breathing techniques your therapist taught you. Right before you hit send, you get the critique you’ve been waiting and holding your breath for. You forgot to cc your manager again. If you want to be taken seriously in this business, cc’ing senior leadership is a must.

Micromanagement is not a personality trait. It’s a vicious cycle.Credit: Getty

We’ve all experienced these moments. It’s the soul-crushing art of micromanagement. You’re trying to do your job, but your manager weaves their way into the details, destroying your shaky illusion of autonomy.

Here’s the weird thing, though – micromanagement is not just demoralising for the person being managed. It’s equally soul-crushing for the one doing the managing. So, if it makes us all miserable, why does it happen so frequently?

To answer this question, we need to dig into the details.

People often view micromanagement as a personality flaw. A controlling or perfectionist person gets promoted, and viola, you’ve got a micromanager. While it’s true that controlling and perfectionist tendencies are linked to micromanagement, this is a micro view of a bigger problem.

Micromanagement is a soul-crushing art and vicious cycle. If you’re stuck in the middle of it, it’s time to hit reset.

Micromanagement is not a personality trait. It’s a vicious cycle. No manager starts their leadership career hoping to become a micromanager. Most people get caught up in the cycle and don’t know how to escape it.

If you want to free yourself from micromanagement, you need to understand how the cycle works. There are four steps:

QOSHE - How to escape the soul-crushing cycle of micromanagement - Shelley Johnson
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How to escape the soul-crushing cycle of micromanagement

9 1
12.04.2024

You’re sitting at your desk, writing your 76th email for the morning, when you feel it – your boss lurking over your shoulder as you put the finishing touches on another “just checking to see where this is up to” email.

You slowly close your eyes. It’s time to initiate the emergency box breathing techniques your therapist taught you. Right before you hit send, you get the critique you’ve been waiting and holding your breath for. You forgot to cc your manager again.........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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