How to micromanage effectively in a remote workplace
Congrats on getting the new job to work as a software developer. Meet your new (micro)manager, Bob.
For the first project you will be working on, Bob’s job, as a manager, is to get commitment from Alice’s team because it is a cross team effort.
Bob is an honorable man(ager). So he will talk about the weather and everything except the topic of getting commitment from Alice.
Bob is happy. Alice is happy because she can channel her resources to other projects. You are told to do your job and also somehow get the other team’s work done yourself.
You should be happy because you get to do more work. Hooray!
What if something goes wrong because you did work for the other team?
Who is responsible?
Well, that is a no-brainer. You of course. This is because Bob makes no mistakes. Well, at least he does not think he does :-)
If this sounds familiar, read on.
The remote workplace has brought new challenges for our micromanager, Bob.
But he has risen to the challenge.
The techniques he uses:
1. Assign tasks to pico level
You might think that micromanagement is easy. You are mistaken. It is an art and it requires skill and effort. Bob realizes that the best approach is
- to stall employee growth and
- increase his “power”.
This approach reduces his insecurity.
Bob is an honorable man(ager). So he breaks your skill to triage bugs. Instead, he assigns bugs to you always. This is to prove that he is “in charge”.
Good one, Bob.
2. Nitpick
You fixed the bug on time. You resolved comments from the required reviewers. But one sec.
Hold on. Bob is an honorable man. So you need his review. Rename the variables his way.
Change the logic so that the code reads better to Bob. Add back commented out code. You say when you look up the code history on Git? Well, you missed this line. Here it is for your quick reference: Bob is an honorable manager.
3. Creates work for himself when there is no work
Bob goes above and beyond. Well above the usual “above and beyond”. You are adding a user facing message and you want to check with the documentation team? Well, you should check with the coding “expert”. Who you ask? Well, Bob. Bob the builder? No, no, Bob, your manager. LOL.
4. Take credit for your work, and blame you for his mistakes
Bob loves his direct reports. That is why he operates on the “give and take” relationship.
Just to be clear, it is you who gives and he takes.
If in spite of all the micromanagement( and sometimes pico management) you get work done on time. Kudos! Bob will take the credit. But don’t worry. He will question your process. He will find mistakes. He strives to find your mistakes and graciously overlooks his own. Such a nice guy!
So folks, in case you meet Bob, say hi to him and then leave. Why? Well, Bob is honorable and all, but mental health and career growth matter more than “Bob”.
Make the right choice!
Fine print:
- Apologies to real life Bobs who are true, good managers.:-)
- The views in the post above are my own and do not reflect the views of my current or past employers.
- Any resemblance to real life is a coincidence. Seriously.
- Credit to Mark Anthony for his Brutus is an honorable man speech.
Takeaway: your mental health is more important so that you can continue to work. You are the best judge of where you are happy. Make an informed decision and work towards leaving if this option keeps you in a good mental state.
