In my Client Intake Questionnaire that I send prospects before they are on boarded for career coaching with me one of the questions I ask is, How do you manage upwards? Although most get the import of this question, some just don’t; they respond by stating, He is my boss, so it is their job to manage ME!

Wrong!

During our first meeting a large percentage of clients bemoan the fact that their boss is a micromanager and sucks all the oxygen from their job by constantly interfering with their workflow and does not allow them any latitude in how they lead or manage their work, team, and affairs within their workgroup. As a result, an otherwise exciting job suddenly become stultifying! The sad part of this situation is that their boss does not rejoice the burden of micromanaging their subordinates, either, but in the absence of knowing better, they default to this mode of managing. Overall, it is a lose-lose proposition; a cause of much waste, unhappiness, and unnecessary discontent on both sides.

Most of the clients caught in this situation are middle managers (from first-level managers to directors), and, not knowing any better, they resign themselves to this reality as inevitable because many do not have any other data point to be aware of other—better—possibilities. If you are an individual contributor and are suffering from the wrath of a micromanager yourself, read on to the end and see how, you, too, can learn to conquer this indignity! As I have written in my previous blogs many times, nearly 80% of the managers are dysfunctional. Although not all resort to micromanagement a large percentage does. So, when they come to me with this cringeworthy and suffocating Schrecklichkeit (a harsh German word for awfulness!) at how their career is shaping up I provide them the following guidance to remedy the situation:
1. Before you establish a new regime of how you want to be managed by your boss make sure that your existing arrangement has not already become a habit with them. Often, once the die is cast and this pernicious practice is in place for a while it is difficult to sometimes change without compromising your own job or career. So, the best time and place to set a new course of action in how you want to be managed is early in your relationship with your boss. As time passes this routine becomes ossified and takes a much larger effort over longer time to change things to go in the right direction, but is still worth doing, if for no other reason than to learn how to do it.
2. If you are still early in your relationship with your boss, first set the framework of how you want to manage your own team. This is important because how you approach your boss to manage you and your team will largely be driven by how successful you are in managing your team and using that as an example in setting up the upward arrangement.
3. Use common management and teaming practices in how you structure your team and how you manage the workflow. Some of the principles that work involve creating clear accountabilities after assigning the right workload to each team member of your direct reports (DRs), providing them the right resources, and letting them own what they signed-up for. This single step is where most managers come short. This is serious management work. Not knowing how to do this well, most managers resort to micromanagement as its mistaken proxy!
4. Once your downward accountabilities are set start managing only by exception. What this means is that instead of asking your DRs weekly or periodic status of things they are running ask them to provide information on items that are off track or will be potentially off track soon, with a recovery plan to bring them back on track. Provide help in this making this recovery workable, which is your real job. Trust the leaders (DRs) to manage this well, yet verify that that reported status is indeed accurate. This my appear like a subterfuge to your DRs, but in the original discussion with them get them to agree to this mode of statussing things when you are not sure or when you suspect something is amiss. As a manager it is your job to ensure that the information you are getting and what you are acting on are accurate and to your satisfaction. Once you develop that trust you do this less and less by aggressively backing off.
5. Once this regime starts working for you and you start developing confidence in how your work is being managed, delivered, and appreciated (if you boss does not appreciate it, remind them of it, so that they become aware of your role, contribution, and success. This is part of how you manage your boss), use this success to set the tone for how you want to be managed.
6. Show your boss what you have done to achieve this success and how you have set up the structure, reporting, and verifying status without micromanaging. Avoid using this term as most micromanagers do not believe that what they are doing is micromanaging, but believe that they’re helping you stay on top of things. So, present your approach to management as a way to structure how you want to be managed for continued success.
7. Ask your boss what their information requirements are on status, people (your DRs), and needs. Work with them to fulfill that requirement with the least amount of intervention. Show them how you are doing the same with your team and how well that is working (this should be a no brainer to your boss, since they have seen your success with your DRs and team). If your boss is remote identify ways that they feel assured about the status you are providing and develop a mutually workable arrangement.
8. Be vigilant about staying on top of what you agreed with your boss in providing ALL the information they require stemming from this agreement. This way there will be no excuse why they should ratchet up their intervention in your everyday workflow.
9. Periodically check with your boss to see what is working and what can be improved. Take their suggestions seriously and develop new practices based on how you want to integrate changes in what is already working well.
10. Once you get this far in your ability to manage your boss make a special effort to thank them for their leadership in making you and your team successful. If you’ve come this far and have achieved your goals you have succeeded in educating your boss how to manage well!
If you are an individual contributor and your boss is micromanaging you this blog can still help you in setting up the right working and reporting arrangement with your boss by following most of the suggestions from #5 to #10 after reading all of them. You can perhaps succeed in educating your boss how they can manage you by presenting them a version of suggestions from #1 to #4.
Managing your boss is a serious undertaking and it can make or break your career, long-term. It can also force you to decide what career your want to chose: I know many clients, who came to me from being poorly managed, who vowed to never become a manager themselves! Using some (actually, all) of the tips here may allow you to become an effective manager, while simultaneously transforming your boss into an effective manager for yourself and for others as well!

Good luck!