You are a Toxic Micromanager

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 14:25:18 -0500

Okay, chances are that you are neither truly toxic nor a micromanager, but based on your actions you may be perceived as such. During the last step in the Troop Leading Procedures, Supervise and Refine, is when subordinates can form an opinion that their leader is a micromanager.

Generally, Leaders stumble in this area because of their supervision techniques. Try these three techniques to help you avoid being a micromanager:

Formulate a detailed plan early- This allows your subordinates to understand, resource, and plan the task at their level well in advance of execution. This is what good Majors do for our Divisional units.

Establish a disciplined reporting culture- This is just like the priorities of work tracking chart in the Command Post, but you need it for every operation. This gives your subordinates autonomy and allows you to ensure the mission gets accomplished. You are still required to inspect, spot check, and refine, however, a disciplined reporting culture makes these checks better focused and frankly less disruptive.

Accept risk at your level- Many young leaders pass down all of the risk to the Company level. As a senior leader, you must help the command manage risk to protect the companies. Identifying where the unit can accept prudent risk prevents leaders from focusing on tasks that are not mission essential.

If you formulate a detailed plan, create a culture of disciplined reporting, and manage risk properly- you will be a more effective Leader.

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Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jan 27 at 2016 2:39 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 14:39:30 -0500

Isn't detailed planning a form of micro-management?

Response by MAJ Jim Steven made Jan 27 at 2016 2:39 PM

MAJ Jim Steven — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 14:39:46 -0500

I have worked for 3 micromanagers...one was completely risk averse and only wanted to know who to blame (hold accountable), the other was fixated on slide appearance (and her way was the right way) and the final one...I still to this day do not know what this person wanted, but I had no authority in that unit.
the frustrating thing, from their superiors' perspective, the mission is getting done...so, in a sense, micromanagement is rewarded - its only painful for the micromanaged, all 3 did well for themselves.

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Jan 27 at 2016 2:40 PM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 14:40:08 -0500

LOL, great pic. Show the goal, define the path, then trust your guys. They know their job better than you do.

Response by MAJ Bryan Zeski made Jan 27 at 2016 9:41 PM

MAJ Bryan Zeski — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 21:41:36 -0500

I don't consider myself a micromanager. I'm *a* manager. I align people and skills sets to tasks and missions and expect updates and requests for help. My job is not to DO, but to manage those who DO do. I clear roadblocks and obstacles that I can at my level and I leverage external or higher resources to facilitate mission accomplishment or to clear larger hurdles that my folks run into.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 29 at 2016 9:29 AM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 09:29:22 -0500

If I have molded the unit into a good one, most of my problems are minor.

Response by GySgt Carl Rumbolo made Jan 29 at 2016 1:07 PM

GySgt Carl Rumbolo — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 13:07:06 -0500

Old Lesson ....brand new 2ndLt checks into the outfit, the CO tells the LT - "Outside there is a flagpole, 4 bags of cement, two shovels, a post hole digger and a wheel barrow. You can find the duty Sergeant and 4 Privates in the duty room, I want the flag pole up in front of the company office in 45 minutes"

2ndLt - what is your first order. For a lot of them there is this long complicated explanation of what and how they would tell Sergeant.

The right answer "Sergeant, I want that flag pole installed in 40 minutes in front of the company office, do you have any questions or need any assistance"

End of story.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 1 at 2016 12:09 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 00:09:10 -0500

In my experience, micro managers almost invariably have a self confidence problem, hence are scared, hence want to muck with everything. A worse case is a great macro who got terrorized so badly with a failure laid at their feet, they become evil incarnate micros. Saw that happened with an O-3 that got traumatized on some tour, came back as an O-6, and you wouldn't have recognized him. His one hour staff meetings were about 40 minutes of him directing and 10 berating. I was a senior O-6 who sat in on one of them and I recorded a minute by minute record of what was happening. When I went over it later with him, he acknowledged the record was correct but that's what he had to do because all his staff were such complete idiots. Second aspect of a micro is they're incapable of trust. Third aspect is everyone is out to get them.

BTW some folk here are confusing "detail" with "micro". It's OK to plan in detail, but better to execute in macro mode and trust the staff to work out the details or problems with them on the fly. Remember, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Semper Gumby.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2016 9:00 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 09:00:04 -0500

If you include subordinate units in the MDMP process early you gain "buy in" to the plan and people are more likely to accept the plan as their own.