Hi, I was happy to see the article on dealing with difficult co-workers , but what if you are the boss and an employee is micro-managing and interfering constantly? In this case, the person does not want to be the boss, but has a controlling and anxious nature that makes her seem as if she is?

Micro-managing by anyone can be detrimental to working relationships and make it a challenge to get tasks accomplished. For the sake of the rest of the team as well as your own sanity, it is important to support this employee to be more effective and less intrusive.

Here are some steps to assist you with this type of situation.

Clarify the role and responsibilities of the employee with the employee.

Identify the behaviours and the consequences of those behaviours on the employee, co-workers, yourself and the ability of the organization to fulfill its obligations or meet its goals. Be clear about how her behaviour is impacting you and others in your work.

Describe the desired behaviour. What needs to happen for the behaviour to be acceptable and for the employee to successfully meet the goals of her role, be a supportive team member and work appropriately with you, her boss? Be clear about what behaviours she needs to stop or change so that you and the rest of the team are able to perform your roles effectively.

Gain buy-in from the employee. Does she agree that her behaviour is impacting her work, the work of the team, your work, and/or the ability of the organization to meet its goals? Ask her if she is aware of how her behaviour may be a distraction/frustration/intrusion. Clarify her thoughts on the situation.

Set boundaries and expected behaviours. Determine with the employee what she can do differently to be a more supportive employee, member of the team and member of the organization. Refer to any policies, procedures, etc that you have in place for providing feedback, team relations and communication in your workplace. Set timelines and boundaries for this employee that will limit disruption of your work and the work of others.

Set timelines for the behaviour to change with “monitoring moments” to ensure the agreement is being adhered to. Once she has agreed to change her behaviour to be a more supportive employee (spell out what is expected here), set a timeline to check in and give her feedback on how well she is achieving this.

Set consequences of behaviour. Define what the next steps will be if the behaviour does not improve. Ensure she clearly understands this and be sure to follow through with the consequences you’ve outlined.

Also, with a controlling personality, it can be helpful to determine if the individual is being challenged in her role. If not, what can be delegated to her to make better use of her abilities? Are there projects that she can manage that will keep her challenged? Better use of her skills and abilities may provide the perfect diversion from her micro-managing tendencies.

A micro-managing employee can be disruptive to the entire workplace. Managing this behaviour and curbing it at the outset will help prevent long-term issues.

To submit a question for a future column, or to comment on a previous one, please contact editor@charityvillage.com. No identifying information will appear in this column. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Kathline directly.

For more information about workforce planning, assistance with your workforce planning needs or to attend our upcoming webinar on this topic, please visit www.gailforceresources.com or email: info@gailforceresources.com.

Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.

Please note: While we ensure that all links and e-mail addresses are accurate at their publishing date, the quick-changing nature of the web means that some links to other web sites and e-mail addresses may no longer be accurate.