Micromanaging never works. It’s demoralizing. It oppresses the talented and shuts down the oppressed. Rarely does it inspire new solutions, encourage open mindedness, or stimulate positive collaboration. More often than not, experience has shown that when people are micromanaged, an insurmountable amount of alienation, pushback, and non-productivity is created. Basically, micromanaging breeds negativity, which is highly contagious.
Micromanaged employees form alliances fueled by the hatred of their micromanager. Usually, these frenzied alliances are nourished by incessant discussions about the micromanager’s perceived kingdom, where negativity—poor conditions, poor decisions, feeling unheard, feeling undermined, feeling unappreciated and disrespected—abounds. In fact, as “watercooler” talk increases, the negativity escalates, even if nothing has changed. Left untended, the situation can grow to monstrous proportions.