Working Relationships: Other than quitting, what would you do with a mentally inferior boss who micromanages you?

Original Post at: https://www.quora.com/Other-than-quitting-what-would-you-do-with-a-mentally-inferior-boss-who-micromanages-you/answer/Nico-Hipol

I understand that question has been answered a lot of times, but I wanted to share points of view from a boss's perspective.

I worked at a job where my boss was micromanaging. It was a bad experience but it wasn't as bad as other micromanagers. Long story short, I quit that job. I became my own boss and decided to put up a company.

After about a year of managing, I noticed that I became the person I disliked, my ex-boss. I took a step back and started correcting myself. I became a student of leadership. I read books and observed leaders - both good and bad. I found that there are a lot of reasons why people are micromanaging, and I can summarize it into 4 points:

Afraid of being accountable

"Where there is no accountability, there will also be no responsibility" ― Sunday Adelaja

Becoming a boss without prior training is daunting. I was responsible for things that I wasn't even aware I was responsible for.

I was afraid of making mistakes. I didn't want to look like a failure in the eyes of my friends, family, previous co-workers and ex-boss.

They're not leaders

"You manage things; you lead people" ― Admiral Grace Hopper

Just because someone is in a leadership position, doesn't mean that he is a leader. Most companies promote people not because of their ability to lead, but because they are masters at what they do. Many don't realize that technical work is different from managerial work, and that leadership and management are two different things.

Your boss is overwhelmed and pressured

“The more you know, the more you know you don't know.” ― Aristotle

Have you ever learned a skill where you felt like you needed to learn more than when you started? That's also true in business. Business environment changes very quickly. What’s true yesterday might not be true today. For a person

Also, most schools don't train leaders, they train followers. That's the reason why leadership is a scarce skill, and why many aren't prepared to hold a leadership position.

Your boss is narcissistic

"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." ― Arnold H. Glasgow

I didn't want to add this one here, but the reality is, it's out there. There are those who become egomaniacs when they become bosses. Working with a narcissistic boss can be very annoying. A company that delegates narcissistic people in leadership positions can be troubling.

All of that said, here are my suggestions for addressing your concern:

(1) Like some of the answer given, trust might be the issue here. I recommend showing your boss that you are a dependable person. But be careful, making him depend on you can be dangerous. You might start working on most of his share of his load.

(2) Give your boss time, he/she might need to get used to being a boss.

(3) If you're not the only person who feels that way to him, I suggest addressing to your boss's boss. If your boss's boss is a good boss, he should be able to address the issue.

(4) Don't take it personally, focus on yourself. You can't please everyone. It's true in life as it is true at work. You will always meet someone you're not in good terms with.