how do you deal with others micromanaging you

[down hearted]

How do you deal with others who are on the same level of work as you but feel that since they have have been employed there longer than you at the company (even though you have the same amount of years and experience from a different company) that they behave as your boss when they are absolutely not even close to it? I have never done that to none ever I hate others micromanaging and questioning my every step I know what am doing this is nothing compared and doesn't even come close to what work really is I mean seriously this job is cake and this one individual every time I work and she is working too drives me crazy, I usually just stay quiet I am horrible confronting people. But last time I worked with her she really got under my skin when she rolled her eyes and everything been sarcastic and reprimanding me in front of other colleagues acting like my boss when she isn't it was humiliating. How do you deal with people acting like they own you and do the same exact level of work as you and do not even come close to been superior then you?

[d0nnivain]

If they are the same level, I politely but firmly tell them to buzz off.

 

 

If they are managers, I sit them down & explain I work better & more efficiently independently.

 

 

I had a few mangers at one company. One liked to micromanage. We didn't work well together. The big boss figured out that she & I were oil & water. He kept us apart as much as possible.

[preraph]

It depends on the tradition at the office. The office I work in, it used to be that all employees in that department helped all new employees with instruction. Even though I wasn't a supervisor, I would often speak and instruct at meetings and when we got a girl who sulled up every time someone tried to help correct her, I told the group at the meeting that when someone is talking to you about work here, they're not trying to get you in trouble, they're trying to help you and that if they were trying to get you in trouble, they wouldn't be talking to you; they'd be going straight to the owner.

 

Then a new woman came in who had prior experience and a bad negative way of managing but was a strong manager, and we had all kinds of butting heads, and I went to the boss with them and had him resolve them and in every case, he agreed with me, but gradually the way things were done changed because she took charge and just stubbornly did things her way. I got out of that department. She didn't last long either. I think to his face she was telling him she was doing things his way but I knew she wasn't and was pissing our providers off left and right and making it hard to do business with them.

 

Anyway, if you feel you are in the right, go to the boss. But be ready to back it up with specific examples of how you were doing it versus how she tells you to do it. He may tell her to back off. Or you may find out she is indeed senior to you and has that privilege. In general, you have to respect those senior to you. I say be sure you're in the right because once you complain and the boss has to talk to her, she will tell him why she's spending so much time correcting you.

[Michelle ma Belle]

I don't do well being micro-managed. I work best and am at my best when given direction at the start with plenty of room to add my own special spin then left to do the job. Period.

 

If I had a colleague on the same level acting like they "owned" me and micromanaged every detail of my work, I'd have words with him/her. As much as I dislike confrontation particularly in the workplace sometimes it is a necessary evil if only to set things straight and/or set some boundaries. I know myself well enough to know that if I didn't confront the person (in a professional matter of course) about the issue that it would seriously inhibit my overall performance and THAT is not good for anyone.

[nittygritty]

I think your best bet is to be willing to learn everything you can about your job, her job and anyone else's job where you work that is willing to train you. That is how to increase your chances of being promoted and to get pay raises. Be positive even when she is being negative. Don't let her get to you.

Edited February 18, 2015 by nittygritty

[girl-in-boots]

I couldn't stand it when my manger micro managed me so I don't know how you put up with another colleague.

 

I ended up leaving the job in the end as every day was a nightmare with her hovering behind me. The worst part was at the end of the day as the store was winding down listening to her complain how she hasn't managed to get any of her work done

[GemmaUK]

I would try a different approach.

 

 

Different situation but my FD used to micro-manage me over some of my tasks.

Yes he is my boss but he just wanted to be sure things were done correctly.

 

 

He handed over to me a lot of the work he used to do - things which he took pride in completing.

 

 

I began to take a different approach with him and instead of being quiet and getting on with my job and him checking in with me on where I was at I became much more verbally communicative with him.

It was all he needed.

Even now years later I will let him know when xyz is completed - it saves him asking me or going to look for a file that may not yet be finished.

I also check in with him on priorities if I have several clashing deadlines and make sure I get deadlines from him on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th task.

 

 

I know that you are currently feeling irritated and watched over and I have had that feeling in the past but it can be turned around by being proactive.

The sarcasm and rolling eyes is rude and demeaning and shouldn't be in the workplace. The only times I have seen that are when people make the same consistent mistakes.

 

 

My FD now trusts me, trusts that I will let him know if there is a problem and a delay,

This week I have been planning ahead for a one of report that I will have to do next week so that there's time for me to fit it in next week, basically shifting my tasks around. He knows I have the one off report coming up.

He came up to speak to me yesterday as I have been quietly getting on with things.

He asked where I am at and what I was working on so I told him and told him why I had brought some tasks forward.

 

 

In the past he would have not been happy that I was starting things early but now he knows I plan and he knows why I do it - I never miss a deadline - and I always give a good accurate estimate of how long something will take.

 

 

When he came to talk to me my first response was 'Aw! Have you been missing me?'

He laughed and said he was pining as I hadn't spoken to him for two days.

 

 

In your situation, if you can forget the feelings you are having and turn it around and be more communicative it might just do the trick.

It's certainly worth a try.

[newmoon]

"I usually just stay quiet I am horrible confronting people."

 

that is your problem, and this person can see it and capitalize on it. they know you won't talk back so they can talk down to you. it'll happen in this job and all of your others if you don't find a way to speak up with people. if people sense weakness they can pick on you, so you need to find a way to not allow that to happen. it's not about confronting anyone, you just have to be polite, but firm. it's much easier with a same-level co-worker than a manager so you should practice. brush them off each time - if they are telling you something/showing you something, just return with "i already know, thanks. i already have this under control, thanks. i have done this before and don't need your help, thanks" etc. keep it short, polite, firm, but you have to speak up or it goes on.

[Gloria25]

I say just smile and let them talk, talk, talk...Even "thank" them for what they say and when they turn their back, go back to doing what you do how you wanna do it.

 

Confronting people like this is a waste of time. Plus, if they're in a place of authority - now they got you in their sights and have incentive to get rid of you (i.e. failure to follow instructions).

 

I got a new super and already is getting on my nerves. We are seasoned people. We've been doing this job for more than a minute. Now, there are one and two people who are lazy and/or don't know what they are doing - then focus your energy on them...but not this one. This one wants to pick apart everything you're doing. This one asks how you do this or that and wants to give "their" suggestion on how you do work.

 

Look, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If I'm getting my work done, then leave me alone - go focus on the people that are messing up.

 

But, that's what I hate about this f-ing job I have. From day one, it's like they WANT you to fail, they're always nit-picking shyt.

 

So, when this idiot comes to me to see "how I do what I do" I'm just gonna smile and pull out the books and say I do it as the book tells me, so they can't criticize how I do my work - even though that's not the way I do my work cuz I just want to tell them what they wanna hear to get them off my back.

 

I'm slowly learning to play "smarter" when it comes to dealing with certain people. Confronting them, saying your peace and all that is a waste of time.

Edited February 21, 2015 by Gloria25

[SpiralOut]

People at my job are terrible for this. It took me a long time to get them off my back. One of them still does it because that's how she is, she will never stop. She even tries to tell me how to do things she doesn't know how to do herself! It's ridiculous.

 

 

I find it helpful to say "I have my own way of doing things," or "this is how I was trained to do it," or even "different people have different ways of doing things, there is not one way that is better than the other."

 

 

If she continues to argue, repeat yourself. Say the same thing over and over until she gets bored or frustrated and backs off. Whatever you do, don't justify yourself any more than that. You don't owe her an explanation.

Edited February 21, 2015 by SpiralOut

[MsSmurf]

There have been a lot of great suggestions in this thread and I myself usually go with politely yet firmly saying "I've got things under control, thank you" and going about my business.

 

However there have been a couple of occasions where that just wasn't enough so I went a step farther by piling up all my work and dumping it on the micromanaging chick's desk and telling her to feel free to do it all herself since she thought her way was better anyway and I'd just ask our boss for a different assignment. The hilarious part was that chick said nothing and actually just started doing all the work! The boss put me on a different project (I just explained that there wasn't enough work for two and I was happy to do something else) and all was well. In another circumstance when I had to go a step farther I've actually had the boss intervene and put the micromanager in their place.

 

I don't micromanage others as its not my job and I don't even want to, but I refuse to sit quietly while a fellow colleague treats me like they own me. If I can't handle it on my own I have no problem taking things up the line.

[pink_sugar]

I've only had that with supervisors and definitely do better in self directed positions. I cannot focus at all if someone is staring over my shoulder or monitoring me too much. Since this is a colleague, you might want to speak to a supervisor about it and say that it's very distracting and difficult to get your work done with someone hovering over you.

[nomadic_butterfly]

Don't know if this would be of much help but I had an interim temporary (thank GOD) boss like that. Usually people who micromanage fall under two categories: those who want to mask their incompetence and those who are insecure, control freaks who haven't mastered the art of trust and delegation; he fell under the former.

 

I am pretty astute in general so I figured out by his third day he didn't know shet and he was "the head of marketing" at the company. He only got the job because the CEO's close friend referred him. He would waffle around legit questions the head of other departments and CEO would ask him. How he survived for 11 months is still a mystery to me!

 

He'd get upset with me at the stupidest things like planning meetings with cross-functional teams like I had been doing for the whole 6 months I was there or asking someone from another department a question. Long story short I just wrote him an email that "look, you're my THIRD manager in 6 months; it's important to be patient and give me time to adjust to your specific management style." I couldn't take it any more, I thought about quitting but it was a complex situation and I wanted to end things only on MY OWN TERMS should that chapter close. He eventually saw my character and seized the paranoia and we got on well after that but he'd crack the whip on my poor Asian co-worker. She was the nicest girl ever and very smart! He'd give her unrealistic deadlines because HE HIMSELF did not know how to do the work so he was CLUELESS how long it really took. I got a new boss like 3 months after him who was wonderful and that was my happy ending. He stayed on until they fired him several months later. Had to have been desperation why they kept him or the CEO trying not to hurt his friend's feeling because he was DAFT and DENSE!!!

 

Maybe try to have a calm, rational conversation or email and tell her that communication and management styles vary from person to person and you'd like for the two of you to get on the same page and reach some sort of compromise that works for the both of you; her management style and your effective working style. Tell you understand the importance of details, but you work best under more independent conditions but you're happy to give her updates maybe once a day or twice a week, depending on the length, depth and breadth of the fast. You still need to keep her posted if that's what makes her feel more comfortable and she has to trust and let go a bit more.

 

Or what she can do is list out all the tasks she needs for the week in a project management tool like Basecamp, Asana, Wrike etc. in detail and maybe just assign due dates, or have you give her timelines on the projects and that way she'll have up-to-the-minute statuses on your task.

 

Hope it works out!