Would you be able to identify a micromanager?

Do you know what micromanagement is?

It is a management style by which a manager closely monitors the performance of staff members, going into the smallest details.

Like what happens in the cartoon, where I depicted the explosive mixture of micromanagement and short memory.

Are there specific behaviours or situations that allow us to identify a micromanager?

Here are the first ones that come to mind:

1. He/she is afraid of his/her staff member, whom he/she feels as a competitor to him/her.
   • These days everyone, really everyone, is trying to take you down…
2. He/she is persuaded that a boss must outperform his/her staff member, always and in all things.
   • If he/she is not, can you tell me what kind of boss he/she is?
3. He is afraid of the mistakes, even minor ones, that the staff member may make.
   • Yes, because then he/she is the one who ends up in the middle, even if he/she didn’t make the mistake…
4. He wants to know everything, really everything, that happens in the team he leads.
   • Because there is nothing worse than being discovered unaware of what is going on.
5. He/she delegates just a little or nothing.
   • After all, how can you blame him/her if his/her staff members are incompetent?

In short, the main characteristic of a micromanager seems to be his/her fear:

of peers, staff members, and the boss.

And of his/her inadequacy.

Do you think there is more to add?

Have you ever met a micromanager in your life?