Why Micromanagement is good for you

Micromanagement has such a negative connotation nowadays that we immediately associate it with bad managers, workplace bullies, narcissists or even psychopaths. I’ve seen people changing teams 4 times within 12 months because they always felt they were micromanaged. They drift from one place to another, never settle, never learn anything deep enough. But is micromanagement - in the definition of “attention to small details in management: control of a person or a situation by paying extreme attention to small details” always a bad thing for one’s career? I teach ski in winter time. Most of my students are beginners, or sometimes we call “never ever” - people who have never touched ski or even snow before the class. As instructors we have to show them how to put on the ski, how to walk around, how to get off the ski and most importantly how to get up when they fall. Yes, how to get up! If you have never done any snow sport, it is hard to imagine how hard it is for beginners to get up with ski on. To learn any physical sports, actually to learn anything that are challenging to your body and mind, you have to feel discomfort, fear and frustration at the beginning. In ski we have to practice a lot of drills so students know the basics of turn, speed control, stop and how to fall safely. Instructors give coaching on the spot to tell students what to work on. The ones who learn quickly will accept the coaching, even it makes them a little uncomfortable and unhappy. The ones who won't learn much, hold on to what they already know, or complain a lot about “things” or “people” that bother them. “The slope is too steep, too close to the edge, has too many bumps!” - one student yelled. I explained to him the slope was dedicated to the very beginners, they looked scary only because “you have not learned the basics yet”. “Why are these people always blocking my way?” - another student cried. I explained to this student these people were 5 turns away from him. They were not blocking him intentionally. My point is: when you are at the beginning stage of learning something, you need a lot of very detailed coaching - or we can say micromanagement, from qualified coaches. This applies to workplace too. Do you remember your first code review? How many comments did you get? How many rounds of revisions did you have to do before you get the “Ship It!”. As you gradually get more comfortable in you skills, you get to have more space, more trust and more independence. You make your own decisions most of the time, but you want fast iterations and early, frequent feedbacks - that is what sprint demo is all about. What is learning - learning is about physically changing the connections between your neurons. It is like sculpting on yourself, you need to feel the pain. “The angle is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” - Michelangelo