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7 Reasons Why Micromanagers Are Good For Teams And Companies

Nina Angelovska

When we hear the word “micromanagement” we think of it as a negative behavior. You type micromanager on Google and it gives you definitions like “to control every part, however small, of (an enterprise or activity)” accompanied by some images of angry bosses standing with binoculars at the desk of their employees, topped with dozens of articles on how to quit this toxic management style. It even feels like you Googled a bad habit like smoking. And yet guess what some of the greatest leaders on this world have in common? You guessed it rightmicromanagement at its finest. Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates are only a few examples of outstanding leaders who happen to excel at micromanagement. Elon Musk even describes himself as a nano-manager. So how come we only see the negative connotation?

Let's flip that micro coin and look at the other side of it. Let’s apply positive thinking and try to upgrade our perception of what micromanagement is. When speaking about micromanagement from a CEO point of view I often joke that “A micromanager is a person that all CEOs want but most employees probably hate”.

Yes, being a micromanager is usually connected to being a control-freak, paying attention to details, being picky. Most authors connect it to distrusting people, thinking that you can always do it better than the others etc. And if this is the case how did this trait develop? Is it because all these managers have worked with people who did not or could not deliver as they were expected? Or is it because leaders who excel at micromanagement have very high expectations and are striving for perfection? And is everyone capable of controlling and being involved in many fields at the same time? Can everyone be or become a micromanager?

I believe micromanagement is a skill (if done right) not everyone can be good at. Not everybody has the capacity to watch and control every single step of a process. Bosses who stick their noses into every single detail because they have nothing smarter to do are the representative of micromanagement done wrong. But bosses who closely monitor, provide detailed guidance and corrective feedback when needed are something totally opposite.

Here are seven reasons why micromanagers can be great for teams and companies at the same time:

1. They are highly involved and engaged with their teams. They know their people and the work they do. They have better communication skills as they communicate with their colleagues to provide guidance and ensure the result is outstanding.

2. They are able to foresee and prevent. They take care of all the details and possible drawbacks striving to prevent or mitigate any possible negative outcome. 

3. They want to get the best out of people. No leader wishes to correct mistakes but hopes that when they recheck the situation the feedback is rather positive than negative. Being a micromanager is not about waiting for people to make mistakes. It's about wanting to reassure that every single detail is being taken care of.  And it involves teaching, mentoring and pushing people to their potential on the go, hence constantly improving their skills. Micromanagers want to control the outcome, not the people involved.

4. They can develop empathy naturally. Micromanagers can put themselves easier in the shoes of the others cause they know what it takes to get the tasks done. They know the skills, strengths and weaknesses of their people, and can understand them pretty naturally. And understanding sets the bases for knowing when to push and when to step back and give them some space.

5. They know what, when and to whom they can delegate.   It is better to have a micromanager who knows the job his team is doing than a macro manager who delegates without knowing what it takes to get a certain task done. I personally know many of the later ones and I call them "the forward managers" cause most of the day they forward emails to their team without even reading them. A micromanager has probably done the tasks he is delegating and can make the right decisions when delegating. 

6. They can adapt their style to different characters. Since their goal is a perfect end-result they have to find ways to get all involved people on board who call for different ways of guidance, feedback and motivation.

7. They can add value to almost any given department. If there is a customer complaint that can damage your company’s reputation and your head of Customer Care is a micromanager he will go over every detail, investigate the situation, try to locate the root of the problem and try to handle the situation in the best possible way. Same applies to other departments and internal processes such as during onboarding new employees, updating systems, implementing changes etc. Good micromanagers can be the safety net that any department needs.

Therefore micromanagement done right can have positive effects not only on the overall outcome but on the morale, productivity and culture.

Every leader dreams of having people who he can trust and rely on, people who have an eye for details, who can pay extreme attention to what others are doing and who can get things done perfectly. If this is the case that it would be logical to assume that every leader or CEO would love to have micromanagers in their teams.

At the end of the day there are things that are very important and should be micromanaged and there are things that are not the most important thing for the company and should just be delegated. As Gary Vee says, it is important to have a good radar for deciding what is important and what is not.

So far I haven’t been proud to admit or tried to push back when people would tell me that I am a micromanager. But every coin has two sides and if positive psychology says that we can regard stress as a positive thing why can’t we look at the bright side of micromanagement. I am a positive micromanager who is happy to hire and work with micromanagers. As far as I am concerned if I was looking for a job I would put micromanagement as a skill in my job application.

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After being an entrepreneur for almost 10 years in August 2019, my career path took a sharp turn when I joined the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia as

After being an entrepreneur for almost 10 years in August 2019, my career path took a sharp turn when I joined the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia as Minister of Finance. I co-founded, the leading e-commerce platform, also known as the game-changer of e-commerce in the country in 2011. My team and I contributed to increasing online sales in Macedonia by more than 350% and educated thousands of customers and businesses on how to shop and sell online. I completed my Doctorate Degree in 2016 aiming to turn practice into science. Spoken to 300 conferences and events striving to infuse passion and awake the potential of many young people. My passion for change and e-commerce led me to co-found the first Macedonian Ecommerce Association in 2017.

My hard work and impact have been widely recognized. In 2018 I was named “Forbes 30 Under 30” in Retail and Ecommerce in Europe and in September 2019 at the UN General Assembly, I was recognized by UNCTAD as one of seven global eTrade for Women Advocates. I am an eternal optimist, with high expectations of people and life in general. I believe that happiness comes from solving problems and that every struggle makes us stronger and more knowledgeable. 

Today, I am in front of new challenges - to manage the public finances of a small country with great potential for development, to use the transformative power of digital technologies to increase transparency and efficiency and to leapfrog into an innovative and competitive economy.