Improve Your Relationship With Your Micromanaging Boss

Improve Your Relationship With Your Micromanaging BossImprove Your Relationship With Your Micromanaging BossIdeally, your anfhrer would give you general guidance when you needed it, answer questions when you have them, and give you a nice year-end bonus. But, unfortunately, thats not how many managers operate. Sometimes you can end up with a micromanaging boss who is constantly looking over your shoulder, driving you nuts. fruchtwein micromanaging bosses arent bad people, just misguided managers. You can use these five tips to improve your relationship with your boss. Evaluate if the constant corrections are necessary. While being constantly corrected and painstakingly instructed can seem ridiculous, sometimes you need it. Does your boss constantly ask you what youre doing because youre frequently surfing your social media accounts? Does she ask you to explain your plans for the day, because you have a tendency to chat with your coworkers mora than you should? The honest truth is some employees need to be tightly managed because they dont stay on task, dont do quality work, and dont perform up to the level their paychecks would suggest. If your boss is constantly on your case, evaluate our own work habits and see if you need to make some corrections. If youre missing deadlines or forgetting to respond to emails, your boss is justifiably micromanaging you. Figure out what is most important to your boss. Often, a micromanager focuses on things that you dont think are important- and, in reality, may not be important. A boss might criticize the width of the lines on your spreadsheet, or want you to put your office supplies in a certain order on your desk. These things are utterly unimportant to you, but they are extremely important to your boss. You can fight these things and remain miserable, or you can say, You know what? It doesnt matter how this table is formatted, so Ill just do it the way the boss wants. It may be ugly, but in things that dont really matter, you defer to the boss. Some bosses have weird quirks, and the sooner you can figure them out, the easier your life will be. You may be loathed to do this- after all, it takes away from your individuality, but the reality is you were hired to do a job, not to be yourself. Now, for super important things, pushing back makes sense, but for the little things, just give in. Dont just ask what but how. Micromanagers often care about how things get done, not just that they do get done. Save yourself a boatload of pain by asking how at the beginning of the project. It may be extremely clear to you that the proper steps are A, B, C, and D, but if you ask your micromanager, she might reply, A, C, D, B. Now, of course, you should push back (gently) if thats ridiculous, but if its just different than what you would normally do, go ahead and do it her way. After youve proven yoursuccess, you can try one of the steps above to ask if you can manage the how on your own. Ask for a bit mo re freedom. Sometimes micromanagers supervise work closely because they are absolutely convinced that if they stop directing everything you do, youll stop working. They often prove this because employees become so disheartened while working for them, that they do just give up and sit there when no one is giving step by step instructions. Managers can often be convinced if you can demonstrate competence, so ask. Start with something like this Jane, I really appreciate the mentoring youve given me since I started, but I think Im ready for a bit more responsibility. Instead of meeting with you every day to discuss my project, can we have a weekly meeting? If I run into problems, Ill come to you straight away, but I think Im ready to fly on my own. Notice that youre not just saying, Get off my back, you crazy control freak Youre thanking your boss for mentoring you, which makes your boss think its her good management skills that have brought you to this point. Yes, this is sucking u p. Yes, it works. If your boss agrees, you need to work harder than youve ever worked before in your life. Dont mess up you only get one chance. Pay special attention to the annoying little quirks that your boss thinks are important. Be honest. Sometimes your micromanaging boss is unaware that shes being too overbearing. This is especially the case with new managers who arent comfortable in a management role. The one thing a new manager knows shes supposed to do is to tell employees what to do and then follow up with them. Such a boss may be inadvertently micromanaging you. So speak up Jane, Im a pretty independent worker. For instance, I did successful project A and successful project B largely on my own. Its one of the main reasons I was promoted to this role. Im starting to feel a bit smothered when I have to copy you on all of my emails and provide you with frequent updates. I work a lot better when I have a bit of freedom. Your boss may say, Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know. Dont ever frame your desire for less supervision as youre bad, but rather as, this is a unique need that I have. Bosses are often interested in doing what will bring about the best results and this area is no exception. Overall, dont just give up when you meet a micromanager. Try a few of these tips, work hard, and see if you cant resolve the problem on your own. - Suzanne Lucas is a freelance journalist specializing in Human Resources. Suzannes work has been featured on notes publications including Forbes, CBS, Business Insider and Yahoo.