When does “attention to detail” become “micromanagement?”
A friend of mine is a perfectionist and runs a tight ship in his department at a large company. He has a great reputation and his team thinks he’s great. Except for one guy, who uses the “M” word every time he has a disagreement with my friend.
Now, I’m a person that hates being managed at all, and micromanagement in particular has a connotation of a nosy boss looking over your shoulder all the time critiquing everything you do and the way that you do it. I think people need to be trusted and given latitude to do their job their own way so that it’s satisfying to them and takes advantage of their unique skills and preferences.
On the other hand, it IS necessary for bosses to define objectives and make sure that quality standards are met. In competitive industries, it’s absolutely vital to the company’s success (and even survival) to ensure that employees produce top-notch products and services.
Where do YOU draw the line between attention to detail and micromanagement?
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Micro/macro management and “paying attention to detail” are mutually exclusive things. One can be a micro-manager while having very little insight, focus, or control over the work and vice versa. Micro-managing is about control over the work behavior of a subordinate, not about knowing the details of the work being produced.
The act of the type of management a manager chooses is also not, or should not be, stable. A good manager should move up and down the continuum between macro and micro depending the needs of the subordinates, and the needs will change based on the work, issues, risks, and other factors. A good manager can read that and respond accordingly. None of this has anything to do with knowing details.
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knives,swords and blades
As for the micromanaged, well, things are a bit more complicated. Likely as not, you’re being held back in your professional development.