What No One Tells You About Controlling Bosses: Part 1
This is Part 1 of a series on controlling bosses and what to do about them. In this blog, we describe the controlling behavior and its effects.
A controlling boss can sabotage an entire organization, if they are a CEO for example. Leaders who are controlling tend to micro-manage everything employees do or they may pick on one particular person they feel very threatened by or insecure around. Even though they may have been on the hiring panel for that employee, they become insecure once that employee is on the team.
So, they try to micro-manage the smart employee in ways that have unwanted effects on the employee’s mental and emotional health as well as their productivity The controlling boss may want to know exactly what the employee is working on, when s/he is working on a certain project, how exactly s/he is going do it, and then become overly involved in day-to-day work. It feels like the boss is breathing down their necks. Sometimes, when they pick on every little thing the person does, it makes s/he feel that they can never do anything to their boss’s satisfaction. This is huge cause of stress at the workplace.
So why are some bosses micromanaging? Usually it is due to their own stress which may be caused by their own trauma or abuse. Sometimes, when people in authority are controlled in other areas of their life, or lost control as a child or young adult, they may do the same at their place of work. The result is devastating for the employees, the organization, and for leaders themselves.
Looking at some of the effects a controlling leader or boss has on the employee, we find a number of traits that affect the physical and mental wellbeing of the employee. These are:
- Increased stress level
- Frustration and burnout
- Poor health and mental wellbeing
- Lack of creativity and innovation
- Damage to employee’s trust in the organization
Looking into the details of the physical and mental wellbeing of the employee, we find that leaders who micro-manage employees cause them to have increased stress levels that could lead to:
- Increased substance abuse (smoking, use of illegal drugs or alcohol intake)
- Eating disorders such as not eating on time or eating junk foods that could then lead to weight loss or unhealthy weight gain respectively
- High blood pressure and/or heart disease
- Sleep interruptions
- Strained relationships at work, with friends or at home due to preoccupation with the situation at hand
- Lack of engagement at work
- Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
Effects on the organization include:
- Increased turnover of staff
- High sick leave rates
- Decreased productivity
- Low employee morale
- The controlling leaders may be unable to achieve their own deliverables as they spend so much time controlling other employees’ work.
The sad situation is when leaders do not realize that they are micromanaging their employees and allow the organization to suffer losses such as unmet targets, decreased productivity and high turnover.
In our latest book, The Dimensions of True Self, we discuss in detail 37 traits of an authentic leader. This self-help manual is to help leaders bring out the best in their employees while grooming them to be leaders themselves.
In Part 2 (next week) we will discuss how the employee and the organization can handle this issue of a controlling leader.
Share with us your experience with a micro-managing boss and how you dealt with the situation. Also, see our discussion of this topic in our Beyond Medicine: Leading Well series.
