What to Do If Your Boss Is a Control Freak - globaladvisors.biz/inc-feed/20150114/what-to-do-if-your-boss-is-a-control-freak/ By Karen Dillon It may have seemed well-intended at first — your boss kept close tabs on your work and made sure you presented yourself well throughout the company. But now that you’re no longer learning your role, the tight leash feels downright oppressive and embarrassing. Your boss is not only micromanaging you, he’s smothering you. What’s going on? Despite what you may think, the root of his micromanaging is probably not that your boss is a jerk or that he feels threatened by you. Rather, his actions might be explained by factors that have little to do with you, such as a poor understanding of his role as manager, micromanaging bosses of his own, a lack of motivation to question how he’s always done things, or personal insecurity. That said, it can be hard to cut your boss some slack when he isn’t cutting you any. His harping about every small misstep you take can feel overwhelmingly personal. The good news is that you don’t have to resign yourself to being nit-picked to death. You may not be able to change your boss, says Carol Walker, a principal at Prepared to Lead, a leadership development consulting firm. But you do have some control. “You have more power to improve the situation than you probably realize,’” Walker says. You aren’t likely to turn things around with one great conversation or one burst of high performance. But you can, little by little, own and direct a process that will enable your boss to start trusting you more and monitoring you less. Here’s how. 1. Manage his insecurity Form an educated guess about where your boss’s sensitivities lie. If you believe, for example, that he’s intimidated by his boss, think of ways you can alleviate that pressure, such as running reports to better prepare him for meetings with his manager. Or perhaps he’s afraid that people don’t perceive him as essential, and he’s on a tear to prove how much you and others need him. Dispel his fears, advises Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future. Show him that you value his guidance. Bring him any news you hear, and take your ideas to him before sharing them with others. As your boss begins to trust that you’ll come to him without prompting, he may loosen his grip. Once you get to know your boss better, you’ll gain more insight into the areas he’s touchy about. Looking at what’s set him off historically — budget surprises? schedule changes? — will help you find ways of putting him at ease now, says Clark. Then you can assemble a dashboard to keep your boss as informed as he wants to be. Agree on your key priorities and the metrics that will demonstrate progress, and ask him how often he’d like to receive updates. Then stick to that agreement. Your proactive, tailored-to-him system will reassure him. That’s important, since micromanaging often stems from a boss’s insecurity. “I call it ‘snoopervising,’” says Stu Tubbs, former Dean of the College of Business at Eastern Michigan University. Turn the behaviour around by pre-empting it: Tell your boss you want him to feel he can count on you and your work. And use language that signals active listening. Tubbs recalls one young man who said “Consider it done” at the end of every meeting with his boss. 2. Don’t fight it If you openly rebel against micromanagement, Clark cautions, your boss may clamp down even more. Leadership consultant Ron Ashkenas agrees. Instead of viewing it as a blow to your ego, he suggests, think about how you might actually benefit from it. Your boss may have your best interests in mind. Perhaps he wants to ensure you have a sound understanding of the company’s protocol or the most effective ways to work the system to get things done. Regardless of the cause, says Ashkenas, accept that your boss may have something important to teach you. Just try to learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can — in case he doesn’t eventually let up and you decide you can’t take it anymore. 3. Scrutinize yourself If your boss doesn’t appear to have faith in your ability to do your job, consider whether you’ve given him a reason to feel this way. Have you missed important deadlines? Delivered presentations that fell flat? Take a hard look at yourself — and look around. If your boss isn’t micromanaging other colleagues, his behaviour could be a clue that you’re under-performing. If you suspect that’s the case, have the courage to ask your boss about it, says Clark. Tell him you feel he’s monitoring you extra closely and you want to understand what’s behind it. In reality, some bosses are actually reluctant to be straight with employees about their short-comings because it’s hard to be critical of someone who might react badly. If an employee has the courage to come to the boss and say that he is genuinely interested in feedback on his weaknesses so he can improve them, that’s a great first step. Reassure your boss that you do genuinely want honest feedback, even if it’s hard to hear. You might need to soothe your ego for a day or two, but the sooner you return to your boss with a proposed plan of action, the more likely he’ll be to trust that you genuinely do want to improve. 4. Look ahead Focusing on your future may help you and your boss interact more productively in the present. So initiate a discussion about long-term goals. Set up a one-on-one meeting, or ask if you can use one of your scheduled check-ins to talk about your role. Explain that you want to start communicating more regularly — and explicitly — about your growth and about how else you could support the department. Give him some examples of the types of projects you’d like to work on and the future role you envision for yourself. And then ask if he’ll work with you to create a plan for acquiring the skills you’ll need to realize your vision. Keep the conversation constructive and forward-looking. Complaining about the past won’t open your boss’s mind or make him want to support you, Walker says. Being positive and taking ownership will. Let him know that you appreciate his guidance, but you’re eager to spread your wings a little, too.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 11:36:50 +0000
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