My Way or the Highway

Introduction

The term micromanagement has become another overused buzzword in today’s jargon. For many, it is a pejorative catchall phrase used when they do not like the actions or behaviors of someone in management. It is an often used, yet frequently misunderstood, term. It is much like the word empowerment. Everybody believes in empowerment; they are just not quite sure what it means! Nobody wants to be micromanaged, and certainly no one wants to be a micromanager. Everyone knows micromanagement is bad, but they can’t actually define it. They just “know it” when it is happening to them.

As you will see throughout this book, the behaviors of micromanagement can be formally defined and the illusion separated from the reality. The circumstances ...