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My company did this then I went to a mental heath professional. Just like that I had 12 weeks off. By the time I came back I was moved off the team and enjoying a much less workload and micromanagement oversight. They fire me, they open themselves up for litigation via retaliation. Cheers
Goodness. How smart. Well done!
Find a new job. It will never get better
This is almost always true. The manager was hired because the company saw a good fit. Your company probably wants more of that particular management style. They were brought in to lay down the law.
I've been in 2 similar situations. It never got better. I just ended up finding a new opportunity. Everyone that complained also just ended up leaving.
At the end of the day, we're all replaceable. No company will give 2 squirts of shit about you. Good luck!!!!
Definitely recommend looking for another opportunity. In my experience this rarely improves.
Also as a defence, keep tight notes on what has been asked of you and how you are performing against those targets.
Then keep a record of the "harassment" by your management, because this is what it is. I understand they are accountable, but it takes a lot of time to micromanage, so unless you are underperforming/in training, then their is little point in keeping you in position. So how is the manager then performing their job, which is to collate the progression of the projects and present them in to their management.
Overdelivering by giving them more comms etc won’t work. Micromanaging is an ego driven behaviour, it comes from their insecurity. Which is why it’s almost always almost impossible to recover from. Having frank conversations with an ego driven manager rarely results in a change, more often it’s a trigger for more harassment. Try and switch teams or leave ASAP
My advice having encountered MM often is that you have two options. Quit or hope your boss does. There are legit reasons for paperwork requests and weekly forecasts meddpicc etc. But process is different from MM.
I know you are under distrees, try not to show any emotional response, and always ask what is expected and how you can keep delivering.
Start looking for a job NOW. I just went through the same scenario and landed a 35% increase in salary and 2x RSUs. The best part was my manager's face when I let him know, even asked, "What can I do for you to stay? Just give me a number".
The best time to look for a job is when you have one, wish you the best my friend!!!
This is a description: Micromanaging is the habit of excessively controlling how others do their work instead of focusing on outcomes, reducing autonomy, trust, and often productivity.
At prog manager role, this should not be happening.
Are you and program making progress as expected? Ensuring deliverables, budget, status, forecasts, etc. are accurate and complete?
Try to have a good faith conversation with the manager to get some relief. It is possible manager is being pressured to get involved.
Program is in solid shape and I'm on track for promotion given my impact stats from my last year and my last leader.
Rising Star
What type of micromanagement? I'm always curious when people complain about this how it actually is. I can't imagine having my manager breathing down my neck
This behavior is unfortunately common with "baby managers" growing into their roles and deciding how to lead their teams.
Many outgrow this behavior and learn to trust their teams more as their work within the company continues to expand. As they build trust with upper management, their responsibilities outside of their department increases.
Some, however, never learn to move past this growth point, and will remain a manager people try to move away from and usually remain in their role most of their careers.
I would sit down and have a very candid conversation with the manager, but I would definitely give them a heads up in advance that you have some concerns and would like to talk about them at your next 1:1. Giving them some advance notice decreases the likelihood that they will be caught off guard.
I would frame the conversation as you wanting to make sure that you and your manager have the same understanding of what is expected of you. Focus specifically on their expectations of how much oversight and monitoring is needed. Come prepared with specific examples where you felt that they were providing more oversight than what you thought was necessary (micromanaging). Ask if their concern is a lack of transparency or quality of work.
Having a conversation with the manager and framing it as you want to understand expectations, oversight, level of detail in updates, etc., is fine. Specifically naming or hinting at micromanagment, especially if they are a newer manager, would get you nowhere and may be held against you. Focus on the information and work product you are producing, not expressing judgment for how they're managing. In all likelihood, they will not take it well. My opinion, having worked for micromanagers in the past.
Do exactly what they say. Slow the process down and do it their way. The numbers will speak for themselves. In no time that person will be on the way out and you can go back to doing it in a more productive manner. Its a long game but it will solve all your issues.
Not really a huge amount to do. Mental health thing would be a good move. I found a lot more people who shouldn't be manages got to be after lock down ..? people think managing is micro but good management is the oppose... delegation. I had to move out of the job I had ... I was bored and stressed from the micro management ... and the constant crit without any good feedback or any appreciation wasn't good for my ADHD. Dont wait to pull the sick note. I had a major health issue because of the stress. go to the docs now ... save your health later.
Set up weekly 1:1 with the your manager/supervisor. Ask for clear work scope and goals. Communicate prior weeks wins and upcoming projects during your 1:1. ensure the work aligns with the set goals.
In some cases this might work .
one thing that worked for me was getting ahead of the check-ins. start sending brief async updates before they ask — short bullets on what's done, what's next, any blockers. it sounds counterintuitive but when you control the information flow, the micromanager has less reason to hover. the conversation about framing it as feedback usually goes better once you've already shown you can self-manage visibility
I was going to say the same. Bug the crap out of them with daily and weekly reports - j/k. I would have a framework what you are going to say, a quick note.. like sprint summary, in an email; i.e.
1, Review your week. What did I do, What were my wins (small sentences).
2. Any Resistance / or blockers,
3. What you are going to do differently next week (if it applies).
It Sounds like whoever transitioned her in did not give a complete status of the team, the roles, the projects. etc.
Is there another area of the company that would interest you? As others have said, make a change. That is not easy to do either, depending how things affect your personal life. I hardly know a manager who changes from the micromanagement energy. IMHO, it's a control thing and a lack of trust (nothing personal); that's how their brain processes things. Good luck.
Read Surrounded by Idiots or read the Blink (Blinkist, I’ve no affiliation to them). It’s might be a matter of perspective. Have a read/listen and then apply to the individuals in your situation. It’s a powerful technique for putting you in control of solving the problem.
Write a report with actionable insights for your Boss to see. Make sure it has priorities which give your boss a clearer understanding of what you are up against and why it is taking this much time and what resources you need to succeed.
Micromanagement, imo, comes from a lack of trust. The people you report to, dont trust you, their heads, dont trust you. The founders, don't trust you. Whatever you feel and think, at the end of the day, what you do comes down to two avenues.
1st is leave. They don't trust you, you don't trust them, you are tired, you have done the work and feel like you need recognition. You aren't getting it. Its stressful and its burning you out. So leave.. take your skills somewhere else and be happy.
2nd option is fight. Show them how wrong they are. Do everything they ask and do it better than they wanted. Sing your praise and be confident, don’t let anyone speak for you BE HEARD. Say I did that. Me. And then do more, outshine your boss and go around them so everyone knows it was you. Work harder than anyone, look for the ways to improve and out of work hours, test your theories and see if they work. then go to everyone and show that you know your sh and you don't need to be Micromanaged.
No offense but if you looked, pool of Program Managers looking for job and fighting for roles is huge in this market, so some thoughts for consideration:
1) Initial step is explore options outside of your dept / company
2) You may need to put up w it until step 1 comes to fruition as I imagine having a job and earning income is better option right now
I'm curious: I've often seen words like "micromanagement" used to describe "things I don't like, but aren't necessarily bad"...then you get a lot of responses like those below, telling you to apply for mental health relief, etc. A bit of an extreme reaction when the problem is not clear. As a program manager, I assume your role requires a clear definition of a problem, analysis of contributing factors, solid communication of alternatives, etc...else it's hard to provide any advice or guidance.
So what does the problem look like? How does it show up in your job? How does it prevent you from getting your job done? What happened when you addressed this issue? Unlike the posts below, I've found most (not all) of the time, things can be resolved through better and clearer communication.
My advice? please ignore any solutions which aren't based in a good definition of the problem...else uyou become part of the problem, not the solution.
Malicious compliance! https://www.yourtango.com/career/how-malicious-compliance-can-stop-micromanaging-boss
Clarity, transparency, and the confidence to say I got it, mean it, and show them how you will accomplish what your boss considers critical effort.
I’m with SE1 in questioning the type. Most employees forget that their managers are employees too, and, like you, most are just CYAing. And if you don't understand their priorities and how you should report to them, it often results in what may appear to be micromanagement.
I don't know the full situation, but what I do know is that clarity, transparency, and a plan to cover gaps and stay on trajectory, based on the priority, go a long way.
Best of luck 🎲