How do you guys deal with supervisor who micromanage things every week?
I got a job with new job 9 months ago. My manager is a easy going guy. He doesn’t look over my shoulder everyday as long as I do tickets. I work in IT.
The company recently hired a new supervisor to take work load off the manager.
He really aggravated me. I don’t know how to to tell him to back off. I am going nuts.
I really hate meetings with this guy every week
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Honestly? I just had to find a new job.
I have found that usually when a manager is micromanaging you, they’re micromanaging everyone else too. It normally also means the culture of constant surveillance/micromanaging is an integral part of the company culture. In effect your chances of changing it via dialogue are very slim and your only real recourse is to either learn to just deal with that long-term or quit if you can’t.
Over report in excessive detail via email, then go into his office 5 mins after sending to discuss it in detail. Keep pushing it until he basically has to force you out.
Every time he asks you for something like that you go excessive detail email and go visit.
By third time he’ll stop asking for anything…
If he calls you on it, just tell him you can tell he wants to be sure everything is done correctly, and you want to be sure to give the details so he can verify it all (no smirks or grins. You completely respect him and believe he knows best).
Be sure to chat about other things including the email to build some rapport, but be careful not to engage in anything he’s passionate about for long otherwise he may enjoy these visits. The goal is to create pure boredom and stop him from doing other things he’s may want to do due to you being stuck in his office.
If you’re invaluable, tell him directly and if he does t listen, go to his boss.
If you’re not invaluable, suck it up or find another job.
When someone micro-manages as a new hire, it’s usually due to insecurity. They feel like they NEED to manage since they’re scared people will see through their imposter syndrome when in reality people probably don’t care. Doesn’t mean they aren’t qualified, but they may FEEL like they aren’t qualified so they project this sense of “know-it-all” behavior, hence the micromanaging. Don’t know if it’s the same in your case but this is at least my experience.
People often say, “fight fire with fire,” but I’d rather build rapport. The guy probably doesn’t know anyone at the company, so this is a chance for you to get your foot in the door and get on his good side. Who knows — if he turns out not to be such a bad guy, you might even become friends.
I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. Offer positive reinforcement and lend a helping hand if he needs it. Building rapport now will make future conversations easier. So, if he ends up micromanaging you unnecessarily you’ll be able to kindly explain why it’s not needed, and because you’ve built a relationship, he’s less likely to get defensive.
Build rapport before criticizing his way of working, or you’ll just end up getting the short end of the stick more often than not.
They probably brought him in because your manager who you previously directly reported to simply didn’t have much time to be able to effectively supervise and manage you and your team. Also while your manager might seem like an easy going guy, understand that this new supervisor is largely doing what this manager asks of him. Your manager is who he directly reports to and will be in charge of his yearly review.
Find a new job because the supervisor holds power.
In the past I just played their game until I earned their trust. One boss it took 6 weeks, another 6 months or so and one a full year. But over time it gets easier. Also I work for myself now and it’s soooooo much better.
Malicious compliance.
https://preview.redd.it/60955u9jmsxe1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2224f1a599fcfcd0eb4669b3552332c921bde215
Got this from the cool guides Reddit page
I would have an honest conversation with him. You can ask about specific behaviors he has (which you think are micromanaging) and ask what he is trying to get out of those interactions. You can also explain the impact on you- how it is hurting your efficiency for example. I would start with curiosity in that conversation, no blaming, aiming for the best productive work environment.
He may be doing it for a host of reasons.
Now some people are just di**ks, and some of those people are managers- so that might be the answer. But in my experience most aren’t, and figuring out what the root cause is- and finding another solution so you feel like you can do your job is important.
In my experience they will never change. I am a manager at a large corporation and one of my colleagues at the same (fairly senior) level is like this. She has been like it since I joined in 2018 and caused me to look for another job when we worked on the same project. Fortunately I got promoted.
She has repeatedly had this feedback but always reverts to type.
My impression is that it comes from her insecurity and lack of ability. She is unable to do big-picture work and the only way she can critique work is at the trivial detail level.
Had this once and just had to match the guy’s energy. Oh you want details? I’ll give you details and then some, ahead of schedule. Eventually got it to where I was in his ‘trust circle’ of people who didn’t need to be micromanaged. Took a while and he still had his spats, but he never shook the habit with most people.
Use chatgpt to ask him 20 questions about every task he gives you. Overload him with questions and information. Justify it as getting proper understanding as he seems to be interested in all the details.
Interesting, as I’m being accused by a report right now of being a micromanager (with another report asking me to be MORE involved.) I’ll come back to this in a moment.
Here’s the problem: every manager is different, every situation is different.
A lot of times new managers are asking for information because they need context and to better understand what a report is doing. The more directly a manager is supervising a report, the more directly accountable the manager is for the report’s outputs.
So why do I mention my guy? Well, there’s often two sides in these stories. This guy is accusing me of being a micromanager who is getting too in the weeds with him, but he also is asking for prioritization and day-to-day support without giving me context and information I need to do my job. Also, as he’s uncovered small portions of his work to me I’ve discovered a lot of poor practices that need corrected (like poor enough that they could legally endanger the company). Even simple stuff like “Hey, please take minutes for this meeting you set up and are leading” has been met with “why are you doing this?” Some folks just bristle at any managerial oversight.
You say you’re getting your tickets done, but:
– are you doing them within SLA? Are there any tickets that have had follow-ups needing correction?
– are there any issues with process that have been discussed?
– is it possible the supervisor has a stated goal in terms of overall process that you’ve not mentioned?
Maybe this guy is just an anxious micromanager. But I can say with confidence that I’m WILDLY hands off with my reports in general and this guy is just offended that any manager is questioning any of his practices. What is he even asking of you?
What are the things that he is doing that make you feel micromanaged? If it’s just a weekly 1-1, you could raise the topic of going biweekly or monthly, or asking the manager what it is that he’s looking to get out of the meetings. Weekly 1-1 with a new manager isn’t that weird, manager may be super amenable to getting some time back.
As a senior manager, my advice would be to sit down with this supervisor and explain the behavior and its impact to your performance. Offer solutions. If there are metrics that he is pushing, get those expectations outlined.
I have tentative 1:1s for everyone on my team to provide a formal touch base. Outside of that, we all talk often enough to where it’s not necessary. My boss, however, wants to me every Thursday afternoon. It drives me crazy, but I just share what I’m working on and we talk strategy for the business.
Have an adult conversation with him.
Ypu give him what he wants. Cc him in everything, plain overload him with the minutia. It takes a bit, but when he realizes how overloaded he is, he will back off.
I can be petty or be a dick. But most of the time I say nothing until we build a routine and they start to back down overtime.
I’m also the type that tries to do everything perfect so when it comes to be criticized, they have nothing to say, but that also varies by the work/job
I would copy your manager into all correspondence with Jonny Micromanager… Then at the end of the week ask them both in an email to get back to you on whether you need to be micromanaged or whether this could be delegated to someone else
maybe he gets off on making you miserable
if so, pretend you really enjoy the weekly meetings