The Signs of Micromanagement

Micro-managers lack personal leadership and tend to:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Resist delegating work

Immerse themselves in the work assigned to others
Look at the detail instead of the big picture
Discourage others from making decisions
Get involved in the work of others without consulting them
Monitor whats least important and expect regular
on miscellany
7. Push aside the experience and knowledge of colleagues
8. Loose loyalty and commitment
9. Focus on the wrong priorities
10. Have a de-motivated team

reports

Micromanagement is Mismanagement
Micro-managers are bad news for business and bad news for
employees. They dis-empower staff, stifle opportunity and innovation, and
give rise to poor performance.
Micromanagement is just plain bad management.
If you believe your team cant be trusted and cant do a proper job it wont
be long before they believe you! Micromanagement is a sure way to
ensure your team wont reach its full potential.
Coping With Micromanagers
Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority,
and dont interfere as long as the policy youve decided upon is being
carried out. Ronald Reagan1
So, how do you cope with a micromanager?
Changing their behaviour isnt easy but it is possible in time and with
great patience and resilience!
Heres my advice
1. Assess your behaviour
Are you doing anything that could give your manager cause for concern?
Are you giving the job your full attention?
Perhaps your manager is a stickler for good timekeeping and you take a
more relaxed approach. Try and match up to their values and beliefs.
2. Understand your manager
Learn to see things from their point of view.

By understanding the signs of micromanagement knowing what they

are trying to achieve you may find that you can help them realise their
goals.
Pursuing a common goal will help build trust and this will give you more
freedom.
3. Challenge your manager
Insist on having regular 1:1 supervision sessions.
At these meetings agree to do something that helps them meet their
goals.
And, challenge your manager when they interfere. Remind them of the
agreement and their part in the bargain. Always ask your manager for the
opportunity to do something on your own.
4. Frequent communication
Good communication and results is the best way to deal with the
micromanager. Therefore give them an update on progress at every
opportunity.
Summary
Because micromanagers rarely recognise their behaviour and the impact
it has on the team it is worthwhile pointing this out to them once you have
gained some trust.
They may be open to working with you. But then again, dont expect too
much sooner or later they will revert to type. Sometimes its you who
has to move on!
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Strategic Management
Management Functions
Planning
Organizing
Leading
Controlling
Levels of Management
top
middle
first-line managers
Managerial Roles
Interpersonal Roles

Informational Roles
Decisional Roles

Management Skills
According to a classic article by Robert L. Katz, managerial success
depends primarily on performance rather than personality traits. He
indicates that three types of skills are important for successful
management performance:
Conceptual skills
Conceptual skill is the cognitive ability to see the organization as a whole
and the relationship among its parts. Managers need the mental capacity
to understand how various functions of the organization complement one
another, how the organization relates to its environment, and how
changes in one part of the organization affect the rest of the organization.
Human Skills
The manager needs human skills: the ability to communicate with,
understand, and motivate both individuals and groups.
Technical Skills
Technical skills are skills necessary to accomplish specialized activities
(e.g., engineering, computer programming, and accounting).
The
diagnostic skill is from Ricky Griffin, and the political skill is from Pavett
and Lau:
Diagnostic Skills
Diagnostic skills include the ability to determine, by analysis and
examination, the nature of a particular condition. A manager can diagnose
a problem in the organization by studying its symptoms. These skills are
also useful in favourable situations.
Political Skills
Political skill is the ability to acquire the power necessary to reach
objectives and to prevent others from taking power. Political skill can be
used for the good of the organization and for self-interest.
The extent to which managers need different kinds of skills moves from
lower management to upper management. Most low-level managers use
technical skills extensively. At higher levels technical skills become less
important while the need for conceptual skills grows. However, human
skills are very important to all managers.
Types of Managerial Personnel in a Company
Typically, based upon organizational functions, you will find the following
manager types in a standard commercial organization.

1. Purchase Manager who is responsible for procuring raw materials in

a manufacturing company.
2. Production Manager who
manufacturing process.

is

responsible

for

managing

the

3. IT Manager who is responsible for supervising all computing and IT

communication related issues.
4. Marketing Manager who is responsible for supervising the promotion
and advertising of the company's products/services.
5. Sales Manager who looks after the sales department and sets
targets for sales personnel and appraises their performance on the
basis of the extent of target achievement.
6. Finance Manager who is responsible for the financial management of
the organization.
7. Human Resources Manager who is responsible for the HR
department and oversees all human resource management
functions like recruitment, payroll, attendance, employee exit, etc.
besides displaying all basic management skills.
8. Product Development Manager who is authorized with the
management of the technical division of new product design and
product innovation.
Other than these, a standard company may have a general manager and
an operational manager, depending upon the type and scale of its
operations. Software development and testing companies also have two
types of project managers - functional project managers who are deeply
involved with every technical aspect of the project and activity or resource
managers who manage the operational and people part of the project,
leaving the technical aspects to his subordinate IT professionals. In most
companies these days, we can see another school of managers called
case managers. These case managers are chiefly vested with the
responsibility of attending to employees' medical well-being There are,
broadly, two types of case managers - medical case managers who are
responsible for getting medical aid for emergency medical contingencies
of he employees and liaison case managers who act as the mediator
between the medical professionals and the employer organization.
Types of Managers Based Upon Management Styles
There can be the following sorts of managers based upon the four most
prominent types of management styles. Each subheading underlines
different aspects of management styles and techniques.

1. The Authoritarian Manager is one who is the sole decision maker for
his management unit and prefers his subordinates to perform their
tasks exactly as outlined by him. In a way, this type of manager
makes work easier for the employee as the latter knows exactly
what is expected of him/her and the way in which the task is to be
performed. The thinking part is left to the boss while the doing part
lies with the subordinate. This type of manager displays
management skills of strong leadership and direction but may lack
the knack for delegation.
2. The Democratic Manager is that person who believes in majority
consensus and takes any decision only after consulting his/her
subordinates. This type of manager displays participative
management style by allowing his subordinates' participation in the
decision-making process, giving them a sense of belonging and
deeper involvement in the organizational fabric.
3. The Paternalistic manager is the one who acts like a parent figure to
his subordinates and makes sure to regularly bond with his
subordinates to listen to their professional issues and lend a helping
hand to ease their operational difficulties. A paternalistic manager
encourages his subordinates to work as a family and be supportive
of the collective effort for the bigger organizational well-being.
4. The Laissez Faire Manager communicates the tasks to be performed
by his subordinates and sets targets and deadlines for the
completion of such tasks. Thereafter he leaves the method to the
subordinates. As long as the employees complete the task in line
with the organizational standards and within the specific deadline, it
doesn't matter what methods are employed by them to do so.
Types of Managers Based Upon Idiosyncratic Behavior
I don't think I need to elaborate on the following varieties of managers.
One look at the type captions and you'll get what kind of manager I'm
hinting at and how well they fare on a management skills list!
1. Dump-and-Leave Manager - They show up only when a situation
arises, make hasty decisions and suggest whirlwind solutions, ruffle
everyone's feathers and then disappear as quickly as they show up!
2. Absentee Manager - They are the exact opposite of micromanaging
bosses who constantly breathe down your neck; all the freedom's
good but sometimes, stability, which results from supervision, goes
for a toss!
3. The Credit Snatcher - You do all the hard work, sweat over your
assignment like a pig but Boss-man swoops in just in time to take all
the credit!

4. The Show Off Manager - It's good if the boss likes to show off his
team to other departments as examples of good hiring decisions.
What if he insists on showing off his bossiness to others by throwing
his weight upon the team??
5. The Please-All Manager - Upside: diplomatic; Downside: lacks a
backbone!
6. Pitch-Fork Manager - The Devil incarnate, constantly on your case!
7. The One-Stop Problem Solver - He's the person to go to for issues
ranging from compensation grievances to technical glitches as he is
sure to offer you a practical solution. Perhaps he IS that good at
everything or, maybe, he is on excellent terms with all relevant
verticals so that he can put a word in for you if the need arises!
The Pontificator/Situational Innovator - The lopsided genius!
The Passive Manager - He runs the show from backstage!
The Proactive Manager - He needs to be involved in and updated about
each and every task assigned to the team. In fact, this boss likes nothing
more than rolling up his sleeves and working things out in the field with
his team in tow!
After going through the above types of managers, I'm sure you must have
been able to identify which category our own boss belongs to. On the
other hand, if YOU are the boss, you may have identified by now where
you stand vis--vis your management style and personality. If you have
just been promoted to a managerial position, you may do well to do some
research on leadership skills for managers and management skills for new
managers. One cannot say for sure which type of manager is THE IDEAL different operations and different people require different management
styles for optimization of organizational goals. All different kinds of
managers have their own brownie points, provided the right type
supervises the right people and right operations.
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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Within business and KM, two types of knowledge are usually defined,
namely explicit and tacit knowledge. The former refers to codified
knowledge, such as that found in documents, while the latter refers to non
codified and often personal/experience-based knowledge.

KM and organisational learning theory almost always take root in the

interaction and relationship between these two types of knowledge. This
concept has been introduced and developed by Nonaka in the 90's (e.g.
Nonaka 1994) and remains a theoretical cornerstone of this discipline.
Botha et al (2008) point out that tacit and explicit knowledge should be
seen as a spectrum rather than as definitive points. Therefore in practice,
all knowledge is a mixture of tacit and explicit elements rather than being
one or the other. However, in order to understand knowledge, it is
important to define these theoretical opposites.
Without question, the most important distinction within KM is between
explicit and tacit knowledge. However, I find that the embedded
dimension is a valuable addition, since the managerial requirements for
this type of knowledge are quite different. For this reason, the discussions
on this site will, when relevant, use all three categorizations of knowledge
but the focus will always be primarily on the explicit-tacit dimension.
Below I present an overview of these three categories, as well as a short
discussion on the way knowledge management systems (KMS) can/cannot
be used to manage them.

Explicit Knowledge
This type of knowledge is formalized and codified, and is sometimes
referred to as know-what (Brown & Duguid 1998). It is therefore fairly easy
to identify, store, and retrieve (Wellman 2009). This is the type of
knowledge most easily handled by KMS, which are very effective at
facilitating the storage, retrieval, and modification of documents and
texts.

From a managerial perspective, the greatest challenge with explicit

knowledge is similar to information. It involves ensuring that people have
access to what they need; that important knowledge is stored; and that
the knowledge is reviewed, updated, or discarded.
Many theoreticians regard explicit knowledge as being less important (e.g.
Brown & Duguid 1991, Cook & Brown 1999, Bukowitz & Williams 1999,
etc.). It is considered simpler in nature and cannot contain the rich
experience based know-how that can generate lasting competitive
advantage.
Although this is changing to some limited degree, KM initiatives driven by
technology have often had the flaw of focusing almost exclusively on this
type of knowledge. As discussed previously, in fields such as IT there is
often a lack of a more sophisticated definition. This has therefore created
many products labeled as KM systems, which in actual fact are/were
nothing more than information and explicit knowledge management
software.
Explicit knowledge is found in: databases, memos, notes, documents, etc.
(Botha et al. 2008)

Tacit Knowledge
This type of knowledge was originally defined by Polanyi in 1966. It is
sometimes referred to as know-how (Brown & Duguid 1998) and refers to
intuitive, hard to define knowledge that is largely experience based.
Because of this, tacit knowledge is often context dependent and personal
in nature. It is hard to communicate and deeply rooted in action,
commitment, and involvement (Nonaka 1994).
Tacit knowledge is also regarded as being the most valuable source of
knowledge, and the most likely to lead to breakthroughs in the
organization (Wellman 2009). Gamble & Blackwell (2001) link the lack of
focus on tacit knowledge directly to the reduced capability for innovation
and sustained competitiveness.
KMS have a very hard time handling this type of knowledge. An IT system
relies on codification, which is something that is difficult/impossible for the
tacit knowledge holder.
Using a reference by Polanyi (1966), imagine trying to write an article that
would accurately convey how one reads facial expressions. It should be
quite apparent that it would be near impossible to convey our intuitive
understanding gathered from years of experience and practice. Virtually
all practitioners rely on this type of knowledge. An IT specialist for

example will troubleshoot a problem based on his experience and

intuition. It would be very difficult for him to codify his knowledge into a
document that could convey his know-how to a beginner. This is one
reason why experience in a particular field is so highly regarded in the job
market.
The exact extent to which IT systems can aid in the transfer and
enhancement of tacit knowledge is a rather complicated discussion. For
now, suffice it to say that successful KM initiatives must place a very
strong emphasis on the tacit dimension, focusing primarily on the people
involved, and they must understand the limitations imposed by
computerized systems.
Tacit knowledge is found in: the minds of human stakeholders. It includes
cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, mental models, etc. as well as skills,
capabilities and expertise (Botha et al 2008). On this site, I will generally
limit tacit knowledge to knowledge embodied in people, and refer
separately to embedded knowledge (as defined below), whenever making
this distinction is relevant.

Embedded Knowledge
Embedded knowledge refers to the knowledge that is locked in processes,
products, culture, routines, artifacts, or structures (Horvath 2000, Gamble
& Blackwell 2001). Knowledge is embedded either formally, such as
through a management initiative to formalize a certain beneficial routine,
or informally as the organization uses and applies the other two
knowledge types.
The challenges in managing embedded knowledge vary considerably and
will often differ from embodied tacit knowledge. Culture and routines can
be both difficult to understand and hard to change. Formalized routines on
the other hand may be easier to implement and management can actively
try to embed the fruits of lessons learned directly into procedures,
routines, and products.
IT's role in this context is somewhat limited but it does have some useful
applications. Broadly speaking, IT can be used to help map organizational
knowledge areas; as a tool in reverse engineering of products (thus trying
to uncover hidden embedded knowledge); or as a supporting mechanism
for processes and cultures. However, it has also been argued that IT can
have a disruptive influence on culture and processes, particularly if
implemented improperly.
Due to the difficulty in effectively managing embedded knowledge, firms
that succeed may enjoy a significant competitive advantage.

Embedded knowledge is found in: rules, processes, manuals,

organizational culture, codes of conduct, ethics, products, etc. It is
important to note, that while embedded knowledge can exist in explicit
sources (i.e. a rule can be written in a manual), the knowledge itself is not
explicit, i.e. it is not immediately apparent why doing something this way
is beneficial to the organization.