Autonomy as a direct report

STCerri International E-zine/Newsletter


#11: April 2008
Greetings!

How to get some autonomy as a direct report?

If you are an engineer, a technical professional, or non-technical direct report, how do you achieve some autonomy when you manager wants to manage you closely? That's what this Newsletter/E-zine is about.

Enjoy and be well.

Steven Cerri

Note: If you have missed any of my previous e-zines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived E-zines/Newsletters

Note-Note: I could have put short summaries in each section and then sent you through links to different web pages, but who wants to bounce around. Everything is right here in this one email. No links to other URLs. Just click on the article titles immediately below this box to move to those topics you are interested in and avoid those you're not. This newsletter/e-zine is packed... it's a 20 minute read.
In This Issue (Click on items of interest.)
"Micromanagement Is Everywhere!" (< 10 minute read)
"How Easy Is All This?" (< 10 minute read)
Free Stuff
Skype Has Been Added
Blogs
Article #1: "Micromanagement seems to be everywhere!"
(10 minute read)

Did you every purchase a new car and all of a sudden you see your make, model, and color car on the road everywhere. Now that you have one, it seems so does everyone else.

Well, the same phenomenon has occurred with me and the topic of "micromanagement". Now that I've completed my 3-CD set titled "Succeeding Without Micromanagement", it seems that everyone I talk to is complaining about being micromanaged or is concerned about being perceived as a micromanager.

So since it seems like such a common phenomenon, I'm going to devote this issue to micromanagement and I'm going to give you some concrete ways to avoid it.

Let's begin with a discussion of what micromanagement looks like, The primary questions are; "How do you know when you are micromanaged?" What's the evidence in your mind that you are being micromanaged?"

1. Is it because your manager calls you every day?

2. Is it because you manager calls you three times a day?

3. Is it that your manager wants to know at 8 in the morning what you intend to accomplish by the end of the day, and at the end of the day wants to know what you did accomplish?

4. Is it that your manager wants a weekly status report by close of business on Friday for the previous week?

5. Is it that your manager wants a plan, schedule, and budget before your begin your project.

6. Is it that your manager wants a monthly status meeting regarding your progress?

What is clear in my mind is that micromanagement is always very, very personal. What sets off your button regarding micromanagement may not set off mine, or may not set of the other people on your team.

Micromanagement is personal.

That's the first principle I want to convey. Micromanagement is very personal it is not the same for everyone.

In fact, I coach direct reports and managers who are upset that their managers don't manage them "close enough or often enough". They are actually complaining to me that they are not be managed ENOUGH!

So it's very important to get clear that....

One person's micromanagement is another person's supportive and concerned manager. One person's concerned and supportive manager is another person's over-bearing, overly-controlling manager.

Therefore, micromanagement doesn't have a "general" or "universal" definition. It doesn't have a baseline behavior that defines it. So if you are going to talk about it, be clear about exactly what you mean.

This leads us to the very critical point. This is the biggest fact about micromanagement... micromanagement is all about the structure of the relationship between the direct report and the manager. That is the key. Micromanagement is in the relationship.

If you are a manager and you want to avoid being a micromanager, then you must structure a manager-direct report relationship that is the right mix of management and freedom based on you, the manager, the direct report, and the situation.

And here is the "kicker".... very often when I'm coaching engineers and technical professionals who think they are being managed too closely, I will actually coach them to give the manager what the manager wants.

The first response from the engineer is that I must be crazy. "How can giving my manager what he or she wants, all this information and reporting, get me the autonomy and freedom I seek?" That's what they usually say.

My response to that question is always the same and here it is:

I believe people are always doing the best they can. They are always attempting to do what they think is the right behavior for the situation even if you don't think so. Therefore, my approach is to assume the manager has a good intention. I don't automatically assume that the manager is a vindictive, control freak.

In fact, if we can find that "good intention" that is motivating the manager, we might be able to find a way to provide the manager with what he or she wants AND provide the engineer/direct report with the freedom and independence that he or she wants. We just might be able to find a win-win scenario.

Case in point. I'm going to share with you a case of a direct report that I coached through a difficult situation. This direct report works for a small business and has been managed relatively closely by his manager for some time. He has felt micromanaged and he complained to me that he wanted to be managed less closely. He wanted more autonomy and freedom than his manager was willing to give him and the more he attempted to get autonomy the more his manager tightened her grip and made his reporting even more onerous.

My first coaching point with this direct report was that the manager was doing this for some reason, probably legitimate in the manager's mind. So that is where we started. The direct report's task was to give the manager what she was asking for without fighting over it.

At first the direct report didn't understand how this was going to get him the autonomy he wanted. But he agreed to follow my suggestions and instructions.

He began to provide reports on the status of his tasks as the manager requested. He even suggested ways to improve the status reports.

I suggested other forms he could use to transmit data regarding the status of his tasks and projects. The manager appreciated these efforts on the part of the direct report.

After several months of this support for the manager, which by the way, turned out not to be very difficult or imposing on the direct report, the manager began to give the direct report more autonomy.

The outcome is that now the direct report and the manager have become much more of a team. The direct report is still providing the manager with the project reports but the format is streamlined and easy and doesn't take much time at all. The manager is so comfortable with the relationship that she has actually begun to manage him less closely. She actually gave him the autonomy he was originally seeking.

The direct report recently asked me, "So what happened here? How did this actually occur?"

My response was, "By giving your manager what she asked for and seeming to give up your drive for autonomy, you actually allowed the manager to be so comfortable with the communication between the two of you that she was willing to give you the autonomy you originally asked for."

By enhancing the relationship, the direct report actually reduced the level of micromanagement the manager thought she needed to feel comfortable. By "giving up the drive for autonomy, and by enhancing the manager/direct-report relationship, the direct report actually got more autonomy."

So the bottom line is that, in my experience, micromanagement is not something anyone has to live with. Engineers, scientists, and direct reports don't have to tolerate micromanagement if they understand how to set up the relationship with their manger. And managers don't have to worry about being perceived as micromanagers if they understand how to set up the relationship with their direct reports.

In my experience, micromanagement it's just not a big deal. That's why you'll often hear me say, "micromanagement doesn't really exist".

Be well,

Steven
How Easy Is All This?
(10 minute read)

As you read my blogs and my Newsletters/E-zines, you might be thinking, "Oh sure. You say it as if it's so easy, but what I want to know Steven is, How easy is it to keep my manager from micromanaging me? How easy is it for me, a direct report, to control my managers' perception and behavior. It's got to be easier said than done."

Well, those are important questions and I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing. Well, my answer is that it is very easy to manage your managers' behavior if you know what to do and how to do it.

It's very much like the story of the ship that had a problem with its steam engine. You may have heard this story before but it bears repeating in this instance.

There was a ship that was in the harbor and it was discovered that it's steam engine wasn't working. No one seemed to know what to do to get it to work. "Expert" after "Expert" was brought in and none of them knew what to do to fix it.

Finally, the owner of the ship hired an old man who specialized in steam engines. He looked over the steam engine, put his ear against the boiler here and there, then in one spot on the steam engine he used his hammer and gave it a "tap". The steam engine fired up and began to work perfectly.

The old man presented the owner with a bill for $10,000. The owner was flabbergasted. "How can you present me with a bill of $10,000. You just gave the steam engine a little tap with your hammer and you want $10,000 for that?"

The old man replied, "It's $500 for the tap and $9,500 for knowing where and how to tap."

The same applies to what I've been talking about with micromanagement and managing your manager. Let me give you an example.

Several months back, I was having dinner with a prospective client. In casual conversation she was bemoaning her manager's behavior. She indicated that he didn't give her independence. He wasn't really allowing her to contribute the way she could. He wasn't taking her advice in areas where she had significant experience compared to everyone else in the office. And with the economy beginning to affect her company's revenues, she feared the situation would only get more intense and more restrictive. She feared she would not get a good review which was coming up and things seemed gloomy as far as she was concerned.

So I gave her specific suggestions. I explained a new way for her to think about her manager. I explained a new way for her to think about his motives. Then I gave her specific behaviors to exhibit. I explained how to talk to her manager. What to say. Questions to ask. I gave her new ways to be in partnership with her manager; ways to behave that would allow him to recognize that she was indeed attempting to help the organization and him. And we continued to have an enjoyable dinner.

She apparently went back and implemented my suggestions. The results of which are as follows:

1. Her relationship with her manager has changed completely and changed for the better.

2. He did conduct her performance review, and he gave her the highest rating possible and the highest pay raise allowed.

3. He has given her much more autonomy resulting in her proposing a new program for the group.

The point of this case is that working effectively with your manager doesn't take a miracle. It's takes knowledge and a willingness to be flexible enough to implement that knowledge.

And, by the way, the same applies to managers who want to establish great working relationships with their direct reports. It can be done. It is easy... if you know where and how to tap.

Be well,

Steven