How to Manage a Micromanager
By: Sarah Kommala Baez
Tags: Work, Management, Workplace, Admin, Meetings

Let me start off by saying that my manager is not a micromanager — just in case she finds this article. But boss, you may have been one, once upon a time. Those days are long over. We’re like this (*crosses fingers*).

We’ve all had those days. You get into work and don’t even get to your desk when someone rushes over, and drops a poop ton of work on you that you didn’t expect. What’s worse, they’re going to stand beside you and dictate while watching you finish what was just assigned.

How do you manage a micromanager?

First, you have to think about where they’re coming from. It’s usually anxiety because they’re afraid of missing things, of dropping the ball. The positive is that these managers are extremely detail-oriented. In a crisis, these are the people you want at your side because they think of everything under the sun.

Second, you have to take a proactive role and manage your micromanager by working on your relationship and helping them to understand how you work best — with time for preparation, and discussion.

How do you that? Here are my learnings from 10+ years of administrative support in varying roles.

Set up regular check-in meetings. Make them every morning or at a time convenient to your manager. Have an agenda. Make it about your manager’s needs. Make sure that everything on the agenda will fill a mutual need. Do look ahead in your manager’s calendar. Before you go to the meeting, look in your manager’s calendar, and make notes about possible things they might want you to do. This reduces the number of possible last minute items in your future. Your questions also show your manager that you care about what they’re working on. Prepare for the meeting. Every single thing on your agenda will have documents or files backing it up. Make sure they are all ready, including your questions around the calendar. Go to the meeting. Let your MANAGER TALK FIRST. Your manager will have their own list of things to do. Some of these items will match what is on your list. Every time your manager brings up something on your list, you comment, and draw up your prepared document. Cross it off your list. By doing this, you are training your manager to have an agenda during your meeting time instead of coming to you for one by one items. Let’s be honest, your manager highly likely does not really want to manage you. They are just worried that you’re not getting it and want to help you get your stuff done right so that they don’t have to come back to you. Be flexible. Sometimes shit happens. You have to leave a margin of time for your manager’s last minute items. Try to aim for three to five big things you finish for the day and make the rest of the time free for your manager’s last minute emergencies. If your manager is an executive shit happens everyday.

This will work. Trust me. You need your manager to be able to trust you with the things they give you. In time, the daily meetings will become weekly meetings, then bi-weekly meetings, then meetings every three weeks, then ad-hoc meetings. It’s your dream come true. You have transformed your micromanager into your dream manager.