Abstract

Leadership is a crucial component for the efficient and successful functioning of any organisation. Various leadership styles exist inside organisations, one of which is Micromanagement, defined by managers closely monitoring and directing their subordinates. Micromanagement is a harmful leadership approach marked by excessive oversight, positioned within a spectrum of toxic leadership, and its consequences are substantial. This research confirms the necessity for businesses and organisations to address harmful leadership traits, such as micromanagement, using a systematic and strategic approach as outlined in the paper. This study provides a basis for the often-neglected topic of micromanagement and its related effects on followership. Micromanagement is a significant workplace concern that is anticipated to intensify existing challenges; therefore, this research is both relevant and important. Research demonstrates that employees or subordinates, as critical stakeholders in any organisation, display significant resistance to this leadership approach. This study has outlined the negative impacts of micromanagers hindering followers’ participation in decision-making processes.

Introduction

This reflection is not elevated academic discourse; it applies across several settings, including local McDonald’s franchises, hardware stores, as well as General Motors, “Big Blue”, and Abu Dhabi Media. It may also function within the statehouse; however, bureaucrats, clerks, and politicians often undermine objectives, primarily for self-protection and self-preservation, and infrequently for advancement. Few factors exert a bigger influence on an organization’s success and efficiency than management’s readiness to trust and delegate authority. The absence of delegation diminishes the vitality and morale of individuals who serve clients, rendering them indispensable. Lack of trust.

Micromanagement like constructing a sandcastle at high tide – intricately detailed but ultimately unsustainable. Leaders who micromanage concentrate on minutiae while neglecting the escalating issues of disengagement, lower trust, and less innovation. Rather than constructing sandcastles, erect lighthouses—edifices of empowerment, trust, and leadership that endure adversities and motivate teams to navigate their path, even under the most tumultuous storms. Empowerment and trust constitute the foundational elements of enduring success.

Definition of micromanagement

Micromanagement is a leadership approach that elicits diverse perspectives among scholars. Micromanagement is generally characterised as a domineering and excessive control exerted by leaders over their staff (Gardanova et al., 2019; Wendler, 2013; White, 2010) and is consequently regarded as a detrimental managing style (Cho et al., 2017). Pastel (2008) perceives micromanagement as a centralised decision-making strategy and an effective method for risk mitigation, a perspective that Delgado et al. (2015) consider to be illusory. Regardless of views on its efficacy, this leadership style seems to be prevalent in the workplace. Chambers (2009) indicated that 79% of individuals encountered micromanagement, while a further 85% acknowledged that these detrimental behaviours adversely affected employees. Micromanagers, however, appear oblivious to the detrimental effects of this leadership style.

Organizational leaders who “needlessly over-manage, over-scrutinize, and over-frustrate employees”, such meddlesome bosses are now called micromanagers (White, 2010). Hovering around your team (“helicopter approach”) does not mean you are leading. It means you are insecure. You do not trust them to deliver. You do not trust yourself to let go.

Origins and development

Micromanagement has been practiced and recognised long before we began to refer to it as an organisational disorder. Peter Drucker proposed the idea of a “democracy of management” in 1946, which would require organisations to decentralise and give people more authority to make decisions. Douglas McGregor identified a Theory X manager in 1960 as someone who has many of the same qualities as a micromanager today. This person is not good at distributing tasks, but they believe they are good at it. Micromanagement has been a disruptive force in organisational life for a long time, but it has only recently become a part of the working language. The term was first used in an article published in the Economist in 1975. Since that time, there has been a growing concern about the effects of petty employers. This study examines the roots and symptoms of this issue, as well as ways to develop a more empowering leadership style.

Most leaders do not realize the damage they are doing:

• Hovering instead of empowering.
• Controlling instead of trusting.
• Questioning instead of listening.

You want a team that thrives? Let them breathe.

When you micromanage, your team stops trying. They do not grow. They do not care. And neither does your culture.

What happens when you do not stop?

• Top talent leaves (Chambers, 2009). Nobody wants to stick around when they feel undervalued and over-controlled. High turnover disrupts team dynamics and can cost organisations significantly in terms of recruitment and training.
• Productivity plummets (Chambers, 2009).
• Trust becomes impossible to rebuild.

If micro-management can occur without the leader noticing, or even out of good intentions, how can a secure leader find a firm balance between passivity and hyper-control with their follower? In other words, how do you fix it?

• Delegate with trust. Assign the task, not your doubts.
• Focus on outcomes. Care about results, not the process.
• Ask, do not dictate. Collaboration beats control every time.
• Invest in growth. Empower your team to make decisions – and learn from them.
• Model trust. If you do not trust, why should your team?

Micromanagement destroys what leadership should build:

• Trust
• Confidence
• Growth.

You cannot build loyalty by holding people back. You build it by letting them thrive.

The best leaders do not hover. They trust. They empower. They inspire.

Great teams are not built by watching over shoulders. They are built by lifting people up.

If you want results, let your team thrive. If you want loyalty, let them lead.

Conclusion

This study concludes that micromanagement leads to negative followership patterns. The word “unfavourable followership” encompasses employee stress and worry, dissatisfaction, demotivation, and disengagement. As a result, these challenges foster a detrimental work environment characterised by diminished managerial support, decreased productivity, restricted upward feedback, interpersonal friction within team dynamics, and a deficiency in innovation. The fundamental premise of this research is that leaders have the capacity to effectuate transformation inside an organisation, either favourably or negatively. Consequently, when confronted with a detrimental leader, it is essential to first recognise such destructive characteristics and subsequently mitigated to safeguard the integrity of the organisation.

References

1. Chambers, H.E. (2009). My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide, Berrett Koehler Publishers.
2. Cho, I., Diaz, I.D. & Chiaburu, D.S. (2017). Blindsided by linearity? Curvilinear effect of leader behaviors. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 38(2),146-163. Doi: 10.1108/LODJ04-2015-0075.
3. Delgado, O., Strauss, E.M. & Ortega, M.A. (2015). Micromanagement: when to avoid it and how to use it effectively. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 72(10), 772-776.
4. Erickson, A., Shaw, B., Murray, J. & Branch, S. (2015). Destructive leadership. Organizational Dynamics, 4(44), 266-272.
5. Gardanova, Z., Nikitina, N. & Strielkowski, W. (2019). Critical leadership and set-up-to-fail syndrome. 4th International Conference on Social, Business, and Academic Leadership, Atlantis Press.
6. Manzoni, J.F. (2011). Stop being micromanaged. Harvard Business Review Blog Network.
7. Pastel, T.A. (2008). Marine Corps Leadership: Empowering or Limiting the Strategic Corporal? Marine Corps Command and Staff Coll Quantico.
8. Ryan, S., & Cross, C. (2024). Micromanagement and its impact on millennial followership styles. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 45(1), 140-152. DOI 10.1108/LODJ-07-2022-0329.
9. Tavanti, M. (2011). Managing toxic leaders: dysfunctional patterns in organizational leadership and how to deal with them. Human Resource Management, 6(83), 127-136.
10. Wendler, W.V. (2013). Micromanagement, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, School of Architecture. Higher Education Policy Commentary.
11. White, R. (2010). The micromanagement disease: symptoms, diagnosis, and cure. Public Personnel Management, 39(1), 71-76. Doi: 10.1177/009102601003900105