Why People Micromanage

Ron Ashkenas November 15, 2011

Over the past few decades Iʼve worked with hundreds of managers,
and many complain that they work for micromanagers. But strangely
I donʼt recall anyone who ever admitted to being one.

I was thinking about this incongruity while working with a group of

senior managers from a manufacturing division who were trying to
streamline their operational reporting processes. During the
meeting, the team listed their various monthly reports and the
review meetings that accompanied them.

From the discussion it became clear that the same data was being
sliced, diced, and formatted in many ways and then being checked
and rechecked by a variety of managers at different levels. In
addition, ad-hoc reports were being created in response to
particular questions raised by the regular reports. In other words,
operational reporting had become a cottage industry that sucked up
time and resources.

None of the senior managers found this process productive, and

they knew that their people complained about being
“micromanaged to death.” At the same time, none of them felt
accountable for having created this problem. Somehow this
burdensome, costly culture of micromanagement happened
unintentionally.

So if nobodyʼs waking up in the morning intending to be a

micromanager, then why do people still feel micromanaged? Let me
suggest two mostly unconscious reasons:

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 Managers worry about being disconnected. As managers rise
through the ranks, they often become concerned that theyʼve lost
touch with the actual work of the organization. Because they have
less direct contact with the shop floor or customers, they start to
feel isolated. One way of reducing this anxiety is to seek information
in as many ways as possible — through reports, meetings, and one-
on-one conversations. But since this attempt to stay connected is
largely unplanned and driven by idiosyncratic anxiety, the result is
that managers at different levels and functions end up looking at the
same basic data in many different ways.

Managers stay in familiar operational territory. Many managers

are unable to let go of their old job or their old ways of doing their
job. Itʼs the well-worn saying: “What got you here wonʼt get you
there.” Many managers are promoted based on their ability to
achieve operational goals, manage budgets, control their numbers,
and solve problems. However, at higher levels managers usually
need to dial down their operational focus and learn how to be more
strategic. To do so, managers have to trust their people to manage
day-to-day operations and coach them as needed, rather than
trying to do it for them. For many managers this is a difficult
transition and they unconsciously continue to spend time in the
more comfortable operational realm of their subordinates.

When the unconscious need for more direct information converges

with a managerʼs tendency towards operational focus,
micromanagement is often the result. And when many managers
operate this way, we end up with the complex micromanagement
culture described above.

The good news is that once you discover these unconscious

patterns, itʼs possible to do something about them. The divisional

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 manufacturing meeting that I attended is a good example. During
the discussion, managers began to confront their patterns — both
individually and as a team — and agreed to eliminate or modify
certain reports and reviews. They also agreed to continue holding
regular meetings to recalibrate their information appetite.

The message here is that with every promotion, managers need to

learn a little more about how to lead using an “instrument panel”
instead of direct observation. In doing this, managers need to work
together to standardize the cockpits — so that the instruments and
information not only make sense to them, but donʼt become
overwhelming for everyone else.

Whatʼs your experience with micromanagement?

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