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Types Of Difficult PhD Supervisors And How To Successfully Deal With Them

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Supervision is a difficult task, and there is often conflict between supervisors and their PhD students. Even if you find a supervisor with whom you have excellent rapport, there can still be problems. Here are some of the types of difficult supervisor which you might encounter, and tips on how to manage them.

Micromanagers

A micromanager is one who is overly controlling and wishes to make input on all of your decisions, however small. For example, they may want to check every single slide or piece of writing which you produce, multiple times. Or they may try to dictate the way in which you divide up your time and how you prioritise. Micromanagers can be difficult to deal with, as different students and supervisors have different ideas about how much management a supervisor should perform. For some PhD students, having a lot of guidance and having their work checked regularly can be reassuring, while for others, it feels patronising. So if you find you supervisor to be too involved, remember that this is an issue of preference and not necessarily an indication that your supervisor thinks that you are not competent.

To deal with a micromanager, you'll need to take a dual approach: firstly, demonstrating that you can perform tasks competently without their guidance. If you show that you can prepare a presentation well, for example, without their influence, then they will feel less need to manage you in the future. The other approach is to talk with them and try to discover their underlying concerns. Do they feel like they need to micromanage because they are concerned about your ability to organize your time? Do they worry that your research will go over budget? Or are they trying to be supportive by giving you lots of feedback on your writing? Identify the underlying concern which is leading to the micromanaging behaviour, and try to demonstrate that their worries are not founded.

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Absentee supervisors are those who are not present during your PhD, either physically (i.e. they are away travelling a lot) or metaphorically (they are so busy that you never see them). This is a common problem with senior professors and those who supervise lots of PhD students. Without advice and guidance from a supervisor, performing your PhD research is much harder.

To deal with an absentee supervisor, you can first try laying out an agreement with them about regular meetings. If you can arrange a meeting with them once a week or once every two weeks at a set time, you'll know that you at least have the chance to get their input on any issues. Often professors can be bad at replying to emails, so a face-to-face meeting is the best way to get their attention. If you can't get regular meetings with them, you can turn to your second supervisor or other senior researchers who you trust, and ask for input from them instead. However, if it is truly not possible to see your supervisor regularly, you should consider moving to a different supervisor who can give you and your research the time and attention which you deserve.

Overly Critical

It is part of the supervisor's job to offer criticism of your work, but some supervisors take this too far. Supervisors who yell at their students, who belittle them, or who make unpleasant personal comments are not unheard of. Dealing with such a supervisor can leave students stressed, depressed, and insecure about their own abilities . Doing a PhD can certainly be an emotional experience, but if students are regularly leaving the office in tears after speaking with their supervisor, then something is very wrong.

To deal with such a supervisor, you will need to assess how severe the situation is. If you supervisor is generally well meaning but rather harsh with their feedback, you can try talking to them about your overall progress in your PhD. Some supervisors, especially if they are new to management, forget that it's important to give positive feedback as well as pointing out errors. They may in fact be very satisfied with your work, but they only mention the negative points that they see. In this case, by talking to them about your overall progress you can get a more positive picture of your work.

In severe cases, however, this may not help. If a supervisor is abusive towards you and they are having an overall negative effect on your life and your work, then you need to protect yourself by leaving their group and finding a new supervisor. Remember that a supervisor should support you and assist you, not make you feel like a failure. You can always get another supervisor, but your mental health is of the highest priority.

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Enhancing Wellness in Higher Education

Managing your relationship with your phd supervisor.

The relationship we have with our academic supervisors can make or break the experience of a PhD. So it is no surprise that supervisor relationships are often the number one issue students highlight to me when I ask them to identify their top frustrations with the PhD. There seems to be something in the nature of the supervisor-supervisee relationship that can feel inherently disempowering.

In the years that I’ve worked with PhD students, I’ve heard my fair share of horror stories ranging from unresponsive supervisors to those who micromanage their students or give insulting feedback. But I’ve also heard more promising stories about supervisors who are available, encouraging and completely supportive of their students.

While it may seem as though it’s just the luck of the draw, I wouldn’t leave everything up to chance. There are things you can do to foster a better relationship with your academic supervisor. Below I will share some top tips for enhancing the supervisor-supervisee relationship.

OWN YOUR PROJECT

Many students approach the relationship with their supervisors through the lens of an employer/employee dynamic. In reality, your supervisor should be working for you! Even though your supervisor is more senior than you, this is your project and it is highly likely that you are more of an expert on your specific topic than they are. Supervisors are there to guide you through the process, but at the end of the day, this is your project and it’s up to you to shape it the way that you want.

COMMUNICATE YOUR NEEDS

Whether it’s more frequent contact, clearer feedback, or joint meetings if you have multiple supervisors, don’t hesitate to ask for what you need. While it’s not uncommon to hear students complaining about their supervisors, the truth is that your supervisor can’t read your mind and if something isn’t working well, it’s up to us to communicate what your needs are. This will first involve identifying your needs and then making a clear and direct request to your supervisor.

SET EXPECTATIONS IN ADVANCE

Unfortunately, there is no guidebook on how supervisors and supervisees should interact. It is often down to the individuals involved to determine how this important relationship will function. As with any relationship, we have an opportunity to establish what the expectations are and set out how those expectations are going to be fulfilled. For instance, when it comes to constructing a timetable for completion, you might wish to jointly work on this with your supervisor. In setting out the timetable, you commit to specific dates for submitting individual chapters to your supervisor, while your supervisor commits to specific dates for returning their feedback to you. In this way, you set a mutually workable timetable that establishes what work needs to be done by each person and by what date.

ADMIT WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

If there is something you don’t understand, don’t shy away from admitting to your supervisor that you are confused or unsure about it. Pursuing research at the doctoral level will necessarily involve probing into unfamiliar territory or even a particular methodology that is brand new for you. You don’t need to have all the answers, so let go of the expectation that you should be an expert on everything that is related to your research area.

DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY

As I mentioned in my previous post, ‘Coping With Academic Criticism’ receiving a lot of negative feedback from a supervisor can feel extremely demoralising. Remember that it’s your supervisor’s job to spot potential holes in your research so try not to take it personally. Of course, it can be challenging not to take negative feedback to heart. What I encourage students to do is to sift through the feedback and ask yourself: ‘will this feedback ultimately strengthen the project?’ If the answer is yes, it may help you to view it more constructively.

ASK FOR CLARITY

It could be that your supervisors’ feedback or comments to you are unclear or contradictory to something else they said to you previously. Not only does this often lead students to feel stuck and uncertain about how to proceed, it can also be incredibly frustrating. Don’t hesitate to ask your supervisor for more clarity. It could be that they have overlooked their previous advice to you or that they need to explain their feedback to you more fully. However awkward it may feel to ask for clarity on something, you’ll save yourself a lot of time in the end by having this conversation.

BROADEN YOUR NETWORK

It is not uncommon to see students becoming overly reliant on their supervisors throughout the PhD – depending on them not only for advice about their thesis, but advice more generally relating to job applications, publishing, teaching, funding opportunities and much more. While it’s great to draw on the experience and wisdom of your supervisor, it’s also important to broaden your circle of support throughout the PhD, beyond the tiny bubble of you and your supervisor. For this reason, I encourage students to make their own contacts and connections throughout the PhD, and to take advantage of opportunities to share their work with others. Expanding your connections in the field will not only enrich your research by exposing you to other viewpoints, it will also put less pressure on the relationship with your supervisor.

REMEMBER THEIR EXPERIENCE IS NOT YOUR EXPERIENCE

Another reason to seek other avenues of support beyond your supervisor is because their experience is not your experience. The world may have changed a lot since they did their PhD and as a consequence, the advice they may be able to offer you about – for instance – job applications, may be quite limited. So graciously accept their advice when it is offered, but don’t treat everything they say as gospel. Talk to others and, above all, follow your own instincts.

Micromanagement in clinical supervision: a scoping review

1 Department of Dental Education & Dental Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080 South Korea

2 Dental Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

Marcus A. Henning

3 Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

J. M. Monica van de Ridder

4 College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Michigan, USA

Vijay Rajput

5 Department of Medical Education, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Florida, USA

Associated Data

Related data of this study can be available upon request to the corresponding author.

Micromanagement in clinical supervision in health professions education generally refers to supervision characterized by unproductive excessive control and attention to detail. It can affect autonomy, competence, well-being of learners, teamwork, and ultimately patient care. Despite its potential negative impact on learners and patients, no comprehensive review of this phenomenon has been conducted. This scoping review aims to explore the breadth of extant literature concerning micromanagement in clinical supervision in health professions education and map the body of research on the topic. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR). We searched eight databases, and the final review and analysis comprised 12 articles that examined micromanagement in clinical supervision across health professions education. Micromanagement was conceptualized as ineffective supervisory practices such as undue scrutiny, excessive control, domination, and ineffectual leadership. Conversely, alternatives to micromanagement included entrusting or granting autonomy, coaching for independent practice, and providing effective supervision and leadership. Overall, micromanagement was attributed to individual behavioral and personality factors, such as distrust, perfectionism, self-conviction, and low self-esteem. The consequences of micromanagement included inadequacies in professional development and well-being of trainees and patient care, and organizational dysfunction. Suggested solutions included entrusting or empowering trainees with encouragement and clear communication, open communication efforts by trainees, organizational management for quality supervision, and faculty’s valuing both clinical and educational goals. Current literature on micromanagement—in the context of clinical supervision in health professions education—was found to be sparse, implying a need for more rigorous research and discourse on this understudied area. The findings can be used to recognize, solve, and prevent the prevalent, and often unrecognized, phenomena of micromanagement, which may improve clinical supervision, the professional development of trainees and faculty, organizational management, and ultimately patient care.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-023-04543-3.

Introduction

High-quality clinical supervision is vital to the development of competent medical practitioners, and excellent patient care. Though non-existent or limited supervisory input may affect trainee learning and patient safety [ 1 ], the negative impacts of excessive supervision, or micromanagement, may also reduce the benefits of clinical supervision [ 2 , 3 ]. Most academic healthcare organizations require clinical supervision, reflecting the belief that careful guidance can help trainees develop into independent professional decision makers and competent clinicians. At the same time, there is little empirical validation or theoretical foundation underlying such supervisory practices [ 4 ].

A few studies have shed light on some of the components of high-quality clinical supervision in health professions education (HPE). Busari and colleagues [ 5 ] reported on trainees’ views of “good” and “poor” supervision. Overall, trainees felt that effective (good) supervisors provided clear explanations of their clinical opinions, gave them autonomy to enhance their experience and competence, and allowed them to engage in self-directed learning. Conversely, less skillful (poor) supervisors showed deficiencies in coaching, including ineffective communication and micromanagement that undermined trainees’ autonomy and compromised their learning and, accordingly, patient safety (e.g., van de Ridder et al. [ 6 ]). Interestingly, studies suggest that too much supervision or micromanagement is more common than not enough supervision in medical education practices [ 1 , 5 ].

Micromanagement can be referred to as an inappropriate method employing excessive clinical supervision. Micromanagement engenders the management of personnel using excessive control or attention to detail. Exerting an excessive level of control denotes that it goes beyond a generally accepted level of input and often culminates in negative consequences. Studies report that micromanagement can have negative influences on medical training and patient care as it creates an unsafe learning environment, harms the learners in their learning, and depletes confidence in future independent clinical practice [ 2 , 3 ]. In general, micromanagers may appear to be well intended, and in fact, are seldom aware that their behavior has negative effects on a trainee’s motivation, autonomy, competence, well-being, team-work, and patient care. Among the three functions of clinical supervision that Proctor’s model represents — managerial, educational and supportive— [ 7 ], the focus of micromanagement is perceived to be excessively monitoring performance, rather than providing education and support. However, recent studies have reported that micromanagement, resulting in improper intensive supervision, did not improve patient safety and outcome [ 8 , 9 ].

Though all levels of learners (students, interns, residents, and fellows) see micromanagement as problematic [ 6 ], the phenomenon has received little attention in HPE. The concept and practice have gone largely unattended, and related issues, such as validly defining micromanagement within clinical care, understanding why it happens and what it brings about, examining consequences, and proposing solutions for the problem, have not been fully explored. Even in the business literature, only a few strategies are proposed for overcoming micromanagement [ 3 , 10 – 12 ].

Establishing a theoretical basis for effective clinical supervision in medical settings would go a long way toward preventing the micromanagement of trainees. This scoping review aims to explore the breadth of the available micromanagement literature with reference to clinical supervision across HPE. This work aims to contribute to refining practices related to educating independent competent physicians and enhancing quality patient care.

We conducted this study using the scoping review method to provide an overview of research available on micromanagement in clinical supervision. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) [ 13 ]. We chose to conduct a scoping review rather than a systematic review because of the differences in their goals and methods. While a systematic review focuses clearly defines research questions by synthesizing evidences from best available empirical studies, a scoping review broadly addresses defined research questions by exploring breadth instead of depth of the available studies and identifying gaps within the research topic [ 14 ]. Thus, a scoping review was more appropriate for our purposes since it would provide a map or a snapshot of the body of research on micromanagement in HPE. Further, our preliminary exploration showed that terms, concepts, and research designs used in relevant articles were diverse and inconsistent, making it difficult to aggregate or weigh evidence. Thus, we saw this scoping review as potentially informing future systematic reviews by providing an overview of the scope of current research and descriptive summaries, and identifying research gaps.

Search strategy

With the help of two qualified librarians, we searched eight databases judged to be the most relevant to our topic (Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL and ERIC). In addition, we conducted a hand search at Google Scholar in order to cover the breadth of the healthcare professions education literature. We performed all database searches on February 22, 2021 using search terms in the title, abstract, or keyword of articles according to the PCC (Population, Concept, Context) framework [ 13 ]: (a) health professions (Population); (b) micromanagement (Concept) and (c) education (Context). Full search algorithms for each database can be found in Additional file 1 . Because no date range was set, all related published literature was included in the search.

Selection of sources of evidence

All authors independently assessed the title and abstract screenings and reviewed the full-texts of all papers against the eligibility criteria. Discrepancies were resolved through consensus-driven meetings focused on determining the suitability of the articles for final review. The inclusion and exclusion criteria are presented in Table Table1 1 .

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Data extraction and synthesis

We extracted two types of data: study features and findings. We extracted the study features of independent articles by year of publication, country where the study was conducted, health professions discipline (medical, dental, or nursing), journal/section, workplace relationships, research method, and sample size.

We extracted the findings of the articles following a four-step procedure [ 15 ]. First, we produced short summaries of each study. Second, we identified key items in the summaries, and developed a standard category template consisting of conceptualization, potential counter-balancing concepts, reasons, consequences, and possible solutions for micromanagement based on our scoping review aims. Third, we analyzed and sorted the items in each category of our template, resulting in groups of main and sub-themes. For consequences and solutions, we adopted the theoretical framework for clinical supervision developed by Rothwell et al. [ 16 ]: professional development, organizational development, and patient services. Finally, we collated the charted information, and synthesized the template into a graphical chart in order to unearth the true characteristics of all reviewed articles. We jointly and iteratively refined the interim and final outputs of the data extraction until we arrived at consensus.

We identified a total of 272 articles from the 8 academic databases and an additional hand search, and then eliminated 109 duplicate articles. We screened 163 potentially relevant articles by title review, resulting in 74 articles being eliminated based on their titles, with 89 potentially relevant articles remaining for abstract review. After we reviewed these 89 abstracts thoroughly, we excluded 42 articles. We retrieved the remaining 47 articles for full-text review, after which we excluded 35 more with consensus. Details of the exclusion process along with reasons for exclusion are presented in Fig. Fig.1 1 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is 12909_2023_4543_Fig1_HTML.jpg

PRISMA flow diagram for a scoping review of micromanagement in clinical supervision

Features of reviewed articles

The final analysis consisted of 12 articles with seven distinguishing features: (1) publication year, (2) country of the first author’s institution, (3) health profession discipline (4) journal name and section, (5) workplace relationship, (6) research method, and (7) sample size, as shown in Table Table2 2 .

Features of reviewed studies

Publication year: Although we did not limit the publication year in the search stage, all the final articles were published between 2009 and 2020, except for one article published in 1998. This result shows the degree to which academic interest in the area has recently emerged. Country of the first author’s institution: For the vast majority of articles ( n = 11, 91.7%), the educational institution of the first author was located in the United States [ 6 , 17 – 26 ], with one in Australia [ 2 ]. Health profession discipline: Over half of the articles (58.3%, n = 7) concerned medicine [ 6 , 18 – 21 , 24 , 26 ], 25% ( n = 3) were related to nursing [ 2 , 17 , 22 ], and 16.7% ( n = 2) referred to dentistry [ 23 , 25 ]. Journal: The 12 publications were published in 12 different journals, 4 (33.3%) were published in HPE-related journals [ 6 , 18 , 19 , 21 ], 3 (25%) were published in medical or dental association journals [ 23 – 25 ], and 4 articles were published in non-HPE journals. Research method/Journal section/Sample size: Four of the 12 publications (33.3%) were original research [ 2 , 19 , 21 , 26 ], which consists of two qualitative methods, one mixed method; and one narrative literature review. Two articles conducted focus group interviews [ 19 , 26 ], one with 59 physicians [ 19 ], and one with two faculty members and two residents [ 26 ]. Another study used both individual interviews and surveys with 46 trainees and 44 attending physicians [ 21 ], while another incorporated a narrative review of 26 papers on micromanagement among mental health nurses [ 2 ]. Other articles were anecdotal commentaries with varied section titles [ 6 , 17 , 18 , 20 , 22 – 25 ]: Commentary (20), Opinion [ 24 ], To the Editor [ 6 ], On leadership [ 22 ], Clinical teacher’s toolbox [ 18 ], and Leadership Q & A (Questions and Answers) [ 17 ]. Workplace relationship: The majority (58.3%, n = 7) of the key workplace relationships were medical faculty and trainee/residents [ 6 , 18 – 21 , 24 , 26 ]. Other relationships were between manager nurse and trainee nurse 25% ( n = 3) [ 2 , 17 , 22 ]; and dentist and trainee dental team 16.7% ( n = 2) [ 23 , 25 ].

Synthesis of findings of reviewed articles

We identified five categories from the articles we reviewed: (1) conceptualization of micromanagement, (2) counter-balancing concepts of micromanagement, (3) reasons/influencing factors, (4) consequences, and (5) possible solutions. We sorted each consequence and solution in terms of professional development, organizational development, and patient services, according to the framework for clinical supervision developed by Rothwell and colleagues [ 16 ]. Table Table3 3 delineates five categories, main themes and their sub-themes, and provides representative phrases and their sources. Figure Figure2 2 illustrates the interconnections between main themes.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is 12909_2023_4543_Fig2_HTML.jpg

Summary diagrams on reasons/affecting factors, consequences, and possible solutions of micromanagement

Summary of reviewed studies

Conceptualization of micromanagement

The articles contained concepts associated with micromanagement in clinical supervision. The most common were excessive control (feeling the need to exert control tightly over trainees) [ 2 , 6 , 18 , 22 , 26 ] and scrutinizing (paying attention to and monitoring every last detail) [ 2 , 6 , 18 , 22 – 24 ], followed by domination or oppression (being autocratic, forcing conformism, and not allowing trainees to make autonomous decisions) [ 18 , 20 – 23 ]. In one article, micromanagement was conceptualized as ineffectual leadership (trainees learn from the established hierarchy, not from a “teacher”) [ 20 ]. Other articles discussed potential counter-balancing concepts of micromanagement; the most common being autonomy or entrustment (entrusting trainees to care for patients with appropriate level of supervision and autonomy) [ 2 , 6 , 18 – 22 , 24 , 26 ], followed by educational mindset (mentoring, coaching, or scaffolding so that trainees progress toward independent practice) [ 6 , 18 – 20 , 24 , 26 ]. Contrary to ineffectual leadership, effective supervision [ 18 , 19 , 24 ] and leadership [ 2 , 19 , 20 , 22 ] were presented as concepts opposite from micromanagement.

Reasons/influencing factors in micromanagement

The articles we reviewed proposed a variety of reasons or factors influencing micromanagement in clinical supervision. We classified these as: faculty, trainee, or environmental factors.

Within the category of faculty factors we identified three sub-factors: (1) behavioral and personality factors [distrust [ 2 , 6 , 17 , 18 , 23 , 26 ], perfectionism [ 2 , 6 , 22 , 23 , 26 ], self-conviction [ 17 , 22 , 26 ] and low self-esteem [ 22 , 26 ]; (2) leadership and management factors [“backseat driving” [ 19 ], failing to yield [ 19 ], and lack of leadership experience and training [ 2 , 17 , 22 , 23 ], and (3) unbalanced sense of responsibility (putting more weight on the faculty’s role in patient care while relatively disregarding the role of clinical education) [ 26 ]. Trainee factors included: (1) lack of competency or efficiency [ 26 ]; (2) apparent lack of confidence [ 26 ]; and (3) lack of autonomous behavior [ 26 ]. There were two environmental sub-factors: (1) patient care contextual factors and (2) organizational culture factors. Patient care contextual factors concerned volume/severity/complexity of patient care [ 21 , 25 , 26 ], nursing capability [ 26 ], and system protocols that require faculty presence or higher precision [ 25 , 26 ]. Organizational culture factors that perpetuate micromanagement (high performance culture, close supervision, and tight regulations) [ 2 , 24 , 26 ].

Consequences of micromanagement

We delineated and classified the variety of consequences of micromanagement into four groups, including the consequences for: (1) professional development of trainee; (2) patient service; (3) organizational development; and (4) faculty (supervisor).

The consequences for trainees’ professional development were: (1) negative influence on learning environment (trainee loss of educational development and self-confidence, loss of enthusiasm and creativity) [ 6 , 21 , 24 ] and (2) a negative influence on trainee wellbeing (trainee fatigue or burnout and increased resentment, threats to psychological and physical health) [ 6 , 21 , 24 ].

Consequences for patient service referred to threats to the safety and quality of patient care [ 22 , 23 ]. Micromanagement may result in less effective training for learners, thus influencing the effectiveness of patient care and undermining practice capacity. From the organizational development perspective, consequences for organizations were (1) organizational dysfunction [ 6 , 22 , 23 , 26 ] due to high staff turnover, decreased job satisfaction, absenteeism or stifled enthusiasm, and (2) a culture of abuse [ 6 , 22 , 23 ] that demoralizes trainees, harms relationships within a team, and debilitates team unity. Finally, as a consequence for faculty, damaged personal reputation was highlighted [ 2 ].

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank librarian Youngmi Lee at Medical Library Seoul National University & Julie Sarpy at Health Professions Division Library Nova Southeastern University for their help with systematic search for this study.

Authors' contributions

Jihyun Lee: research design, data analysis, result interpretation, writing Solmoe Ahn: data collection, data analysis, drafting Marcus A. Henning: research design, result interpretation, writing J.M.Monica van de Ridder: research design, drafting, result interpretationVijay Rajput: research design, result interpretation, writing.

This study was funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2020S1A5A8041947) & the Ministry of Science & ICT (NRF-2021R1F1A1056465) of the Republic of Korea, the National Research Foundation of Korea and in part by Dental Research Institute of Seoul National University.

Availability of data and materials

Declarations.

Not applicable (No ethical approval was needed, as the study did not involve human participants).

Not applicable.

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Correspondence
Published: 11 May 2017

PhD supervisors: be better mentors

Devang Mehta 1 &
Konstantinos Vavitsas 2

Nature volume 545 , page 158 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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As steering-committee members of the European Association of Students and Post-docs in Synthetic Biology, we find it questionable and unhelpful to blame research students for the breakdown in communication with supervisors ( E. Diamandis Nature 544 , 129; 2017 ).

We agree that PhD students should be proactive in their investigations and in using their supervisor's expertise. First, however, they need to find their feet. They are largely naive about the highly competitive nature of science when they start in a lab, and often have no experience of project management. PhD students are not trainees or employees: they need guidance and supervision, particularly during the first two years.

PhD students today face more challenges than most professors ever did. The supervisor has mentoring responsibilities beyond academic performance, including the student's well-being. Many PhD students crack under the strain of publishing pressures and deteriorating career prospects (see go.nature.com/2pt9q6j ). Unless underpinned by appropriate support, meetings with the supervisor risk reinforcing the student's fear of failure.

European universities are tackling this problem by providing more courses and resources to train principal investigators in management and leadership. Their widespread requirement for PhD candidates to have completed a master's degree before enrolling means that students are better equipped to deal with the few islands of success in the sea of failures typical of the research environment.

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By Dr Harry Hothi
August 12, 2020

A good PhD supervisor has a track record of supervising PhD students through to completion, has a strong publication record, is active in their research field, has sufficient time to provide adequate supervision, is genuinely interested in your project, can provide mentorship and has a supportive personality.

Introduction

The indicators that you’ll have the best chance of succeeding in your PhD project are multi-factorial. You’ll need to secure funding, find a research project that you’re interested in and is within your academic area of expertise, maybe even write your own research proposal, and find a good supervisor that will help guide you through PhD life.

As you research more into life as a doctoral student, you’ll appreciate that choosing a good supervisor is one of the most important factors that can influence the success of your project, and even If you complete your PhD at all. You need to find a good supervisory relationship with someone who has a genuine research interest in your project.

This page outlines the top qualities to look for as indicators of an ideal PhD supervisor. But before we get to that, we should be clear on precisely what the supervisor is there to do, and what they are not.

The Role of a PhD Supervisor

A PhD supervisor is there to guide you as you work through PhD life and help you make informed decisions about how you shape your PhD project. The key elements of their supervisory role include:

To help ensure that you stay on schedule and maintain constant progress of your research so that you ultimately finish your PhD within your intended time frame, typically three to four years.
To advise and guide you based on their knowledge and expertise in your subject area.
To help you in the decision-making process as you design, prepare and execute your study design.
To work with you as you analyse your raw data and begin to draw conclusions about key findings that are coming out of your research.
To provide feedback and edits where necessary on your manuscripts and elements of your thesis writing.
To encourage and motivate you and provide ongoing support as a mentor.
To provide support at a human level, beyond just the academic challenges.

It’s important that you know from the outset what a supervisor isn’t there to do, so that your expectations of the PhDstudent-supervisor relationship are correct. A supervisor cannot and should not create your study design or tell you how you should run your experiments or help you write your thesis. Broadly speaking, you as a PhD student will create, develop and refine content for your thesis, and your supervisor will help you improve this content by providing you with continuous constructive feedback.

There’s a balance to be found here in what makes a good PhD supervisor, ranging from one extreme of providing very little support during a research project, to becoming too involved in the running of the project to the extent that it takes away from it being an independent body of work by the graduate student themselves. Ultimately, what makes a good supervisor is someone you can build a rapport with, who helps bring out the best in you to produce a well written, significant body of research that contributes novel findings to your subject area.

Read on to learn the key qualities you should consider when looking for a good PhD supervisor.

Qualities to Look For in A Good PhD Supervisor

1. a track record of successful phd student supervision.

Good PhD Supervisor taking students to Completion

A quick first check to gauge how good a prospective supervisor is is to find out how many students they’ve successfully supervised in the past; i.e. how many students have earned their PhD under their supervision. Ideally, you’d want to go one step further and find out:

How many students they’ve supervised in total previously and of those, what percentage have gone onto gain their PhDs; however, this level of detail may not always be easy to find online. Most often though, a conversation with a potential supervisor and even their current or previous students should help you get an idea of this.
What were the project titles and specifically the areas of research that they supervised on? Are these similar to your intended project or are they significantly different from the type of work performed in the academic’s lab in the past? Of the current students in the lab, are there any projects that could complement yours
Did any of the previous PhD students publish the work of their doctoral research in peer-reviewed journals and present at conferences? It’s a great sign if they have, and in particular, if they’re named first authors in some or all of these publications.

This isn’t to say that a potential supervisor without a track record of PhD supervision is necessarily a bad fit, especially if the supervisor is relatively new to the position and is still establishing their research group. It is, however, reassuring if you know they have supervision experience in supporting students to successful PhD completion.

2. Is an Expert in their Field of Research

As a PhD candidate, you will want your supervisor to have a high level of research expertise within the field that your own research topic sits in. This expertise will be essential if they are to help guide you through your research and keep you on track to what is most novel and impactful to your research area.

Your supervisor doesn’t necessarily need to have all the answers to questions that arise in your specific PhD project, but should know enough to be able to have useful conversations about your research. It will be your responsibility to discover the answers to problems as they arise, and you should even expect to complete your PhD with a higher level of expertise about your project than your supervisor.

The best way to determine if your supervisor has the expertise to supervise you properly is to look at their publication track record. The things you need to look for are:

How often do they publish papers in peer-reviewed journals, and are they still actively involved in new papers coming out in the research field?
What type of journals have they published in? For example, are most papers in comparatively low impact factor journals, or do they have at least some in the ‘big’ journals within your field?
How many citations do they have from their research? This can be a good indicator of the value that other researchgroups place on these publications; having 50 papers published that have been cited only 10 times may (but not always) suggest that this research is not directly relevant to the subject area or focus from other groups.
How many co-authors has your potential supervisor published with? Many authors from different institutions is a good indicator of a vast collaborative professional network that could be useful to you.

There’re no hard metrics here as to how many papers or citations an individual needs to be considered an expert, and these numbers can vary considerably between different disciplines. Instead, it’s better to get a sense of where your potential supervisor’s track record sits in comparison to other researchers in the same field; remember that it would be unfair to directly compare the output of a new university lecturer with a well-established professor who has naturally led more research projects.

Equally, this exercise is a good way for you to better understand how interested your supervisor will be in your research; if you find that much of their research output is directly related to your PhD study, then it’s logical that your supervisor has a real interest here. While the opposite is not necessarily true, it’s understandable from a human perspective that a supervisor may be less interested in a project that doesn’t help to further their own research work, especially if they’re already very busy.

Two excellent resources to look up publications are Google Scholar and ResearchGate .

3. Has Enough Time to Provide Good PhD Supervision

PhD Supervisor should have enought time to see you

This seems like an obvious point, but it’s worth emphasising: how smoothly your PhD goes and ultimately how successful it is, will largely be influenced by how much time your research supervisor has to provide guidance, constructive academic advice and mentorship. The fact that your supervisor is the world’s leading expert in your field becomes a moot point if they don’t have time to meet you.

A good PhD supervisor will take the time to meet with you regularly in person (ideally) or remotely and be reachable and responsive to questions as and when they arise (e.g. through email or video calling). As a student, you want to have a research environment where you know you can drop by your supervisors’ office for a quick chat, or that you’ll see them around the university regularly; chance encounters and corridor discussions are sometimes the most impactful when working through problems.

Unsurprisingly, however, most academics who are well-known experts in their field are also usually some of the busiest too. It’s common for established academic supervisors to have several commitments competing for their time. These can include teaching and supervising undergraduate students, masters students and post-docs, travelling to collaborator meetings or invited talks, managing the growth of their academic department or graduate school, sitting on advisory boards and writing grants for funding applications. Beware of the other obligations they may have and how this could impact your work relationship.

You’ll need to find a balance here to find a PhD supervisor who has the academic knowledge to support you, but also the time to do so; talking to their current and past students will help you get a sense of this. It’s also reassuring to know that your supervisor has a permanent position within your university and has no plans for a sabbatical during your time as a PhD researcher.

4. Is a Good Mentor with a Supportive Personality

A PhD project is an exercise in independently producing a substantial body of research work; the primary role of your supervisor should be to provide mentoring to help you achieve this. You want to have a supervisor with the necessary academic knowledge, but it is just as important to have a supportive supervisor who is actively willing and able to provide you constructive criticism on your work in a consistent manner. You’ll likely get a sense of their personality during your first few meetings with them when discussing your research proposal; if you feel there’s a disconnect between you as a PhD student and your potential supervisor at this stage, it’s better to decide on other options with different supervisors.

A good supervisor will help direct you towards the best outcomes in your PhD research when you reach crossroads. They will work with you to develop a structure for your thesis and encourage you to set deadlines to work to and push you to achieve these. A good mentor should be able to recognise when you need more support in a specific area, be it a technical academic hurdle or simply some guidance in developing efficient work patterns and routines, and have the communication skills to help you recognise and overcome them.

A good supervisor should share the same mindset as you about finishing your PhD within a reasonable time frame; in the UK this would be within three to four years as a full-time university student. Their encouragement should reflect this and (gently) push you to set and reach mini-milestones throughout your project to ensure you stay on track with progress. This is a great example of when a supportive personality and positive attitude is essential for you both to maintain a good professional relationship throughout a PhD. The ideal supervisor will bring out the best in you without becoming prescriptive in their guidance, allowing you the freedom to develop your own working style.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

To sum up, the qualities you should look for in a good PhD supervisor are that they have a strong understanding of your research field, demonstrated by regular and impactful publications, have a proven track record of PhD supervision, have the time to support you, and will do so by providing mentorship rather than being a ‘boss’.

As a final point, if you’re considering a research career after you finish your PhD journey, get a sense of if there may any research opportunities to continue as a postdoc with the supervisor if you so wanted.

Are you always finding yourself working on sections of your research tasks right up until your deadlines? Are you still finding yourself distracted the moment

You’ll come across many academics with PhD, some using the title of Doctor and others using Professor. This blog post helps you understand the differences.

Can you do a PhD part time while working answered

Is it really possible to do a PhD while working? The answer is ‘yes’, but it comes with several ‘buts’. Read our post to find out if it’s for you.

Join thousands of other students and stay up to date with the latest PhD programmes, funding opportunities and advice.

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In the UK, a dissertation, usually around 20,000 words is written by undergraduate and Master’s students, whilst a thesis, around 80,000 words, is written as part of a PhD.

The Thurstone Scale is used to quantify the attitudes of people being surveyed, using a format of ‘agree-disagree’ statements.

Harneet’s heading into the fourth year of her PhD at the University of Leicester. Her research looks at the electrical currents in the Earth’s magnetosphere: how they change with time, and under different conditions.

Sammy is a second year PhD student at Cardiff Metropolitan University researching how secondary school teachers can meet the demands of the Digital Competence Framework.

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How to Deal With Micromanagers

and how to stop micromanaging others

Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Weekend Images Inc. / Getty Images

Why Is Micromanagement a Toxic Trait?

How to deal with a micromanager, how to stop micromanaging others.

A micromanager is someone who operates with excessive control and attention to detail. Working or interacting with them can be difficult because they can be controlling, critical, distrustful, and even suffocating.

“There are micromanaging bosses, family members, teachers, coworkers, and sometimes even friends or partners,” says Aimee Daramus , PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist.

If you’re dealing with a micromanager, it’s important to set firm boundaries in your communication with them, in order to keep them from trying to control you. Otherwise, a micromanager can try to control every detail of your work or personal life, says Dr. Daramus.

This article explores the signs and toxic effects of micromanagement. It also suggests some strategies that can help you deal with a micromanager or stop micromanaging others.

Signs of Micromanagement

These are some of the characteristics of micromanagement, according to Dr. Daramus:

Wanting everything done their way
Being reluctant to delegate tasks
Telling you exactly how to do something or doing it themselves
Not being open to others’ inputs or ideas
Offering you the illusion of responsibility or choice, when in fact you don’t have any autonomy
Not trusting you to complete the task on your own
Getting into minute details of day-to-day operations
Excessively asking for updates on tasks
Only praising things that are done their way
Rejecting or correcting things that are done any other way
Being overly critical of others

Micromanagement can be a toxic trait and that can lead to several negative outcomes for everyone involved.

Micromanaging someone can border on bullying , and as a result the person may feel frustrated, angry, and belittled, says Helene D’Jay , MS, LPC, executive director of young adult services at Newport Healthcare, Connecticut.

In fact, micromanagers often harm themselves in the process too, says Dr. Daramus. She explains that micromanagers genuinely believe they’re helping and often expect praise or thanks for everything they do. “However, if a micromanager takes over your project, redoes everything you did, then expects you to thank them for undoing all your work, you’re not going to feel very appreciative.” As a result, the micromanager may feel disappointed and underappreciated.

In workplaces, micromanaging leaders and supervisors also affect the team’s morale and performance. A micromanager’s team can lack ambition and motivation, be plagued by poor performance, and have higher turnover rates, says D’Jay.

Dr. Daramus suggests some strategies that can help you deal with a micromanager.

Set Firm Boundaries

If you notice a micromanager trying to take over, set firm boundaries immediately.

For instance, if they’re not actually in charge, don’t let them pretend like they’re in charge. Politely but firmly treat them as equals to everyone else.

It can be a little harder to tell your boss to stop micromanaging you; however, you can have the conversation diplomatically. Let them know that you’re capable of handling the task and would appreciate some autonomy. You can let them know how you’re planning to do it and commit to periodic updates, in order to gain their trust .

Tell Them How Their Behavior Is Affecting You

If the micromanager’s behavior continues, express how their actions are impacting you. Have an open and honest conversation with them, keeping the focus on how their behavior is affecting you. Avoid labeling or judging their behavior.

If it’s a personal relationship, you can let them know that their need for control is harming your relationship and making you feel angry, stressed, frustrated, and undervalued. Seeing things from your perspective may cause them to ease up on their behavior.

If it’s a workplace relationship, you can explain how their behavior is affecting your ability to do your job. For instance, if the time taken to write detailed daily updates is taking away from the time you would spend actually doing the task, you can explain this and suggest weekly updates instead.

Understand Their Motivations

Micromanagers are often driven by fear, insecurity , or lack of trust. They may also have perfectionist tendencies that can cause them to be overly critical of themselves and others.

When you’re dealing with a micromanager, it can be helpful to understand their motivations. By understanding what’s driving their behavior, you can take steps to address their concerns and gain their trust. This can put you in a better position to set boundaries that will be respected.

For instance, if you know your manager is worried about meeting an upcoming quarterly target, align your interests with theirs. Let them know what steps you’re taking to achieve the target and how much progress you’ve made. The following quarter, they may ease up on you a little because they trust you to handle it and know you’re working toward the same goal.

Distance Yourself If Their Behavior Doesn’t Change

You may find that the micromanager’s controlling behavior continues despite your efforts to try communicating with them and set boundaries with them.

Aimee Daramus, PsyD

Not all micromanagers can or will change. At some point, you may have to decide whether it’s worth leaving the job, relationship, or friendship in order to protect yourself.

If someone in your life has pointed out that you’re trying to micromanage them, these are some steps you can take to stop being a micromanager:

Learn to delegate: Delegate tasks to others based on their abilities instead of trying to do everything yourself. Trust that they can handle the task and provide guidance only when required. Focus on achieving the outcome instead of scrutinizing every detail of the process.
Be open to different ideas: It’s important to be open to other people’s ideas and approaches. This can help you find creative solutions to problems.
Establish trust: Trusting others is key to letting go of micromanaging tendencies. Trust people to complete the task and ask for help when needed. Avoid hovering over them when you’re not needed.
Don’t focus on perfection: Focusing on perfection can set you up for failure because no matter what someone does, it will never feel like it’s good enough. Focus on achieving mutually agreed upon goals and accept that sometimes mistakes happen.

Frequently Asked Questions

The best way to deal with a micromanager is to try and have a conversation with them and let them know that you're capable of doing the work. Aligning yourself with their goals and gaining their trust may help you gain some breathing room.

However, if nothing works, you may have to walk away from the relationship in order to protect yourself.

Micromanagement can be a form of bullying or harassment, particularly if the person speaks rudely to you, demeans you, or insults you.

If the micromanager is a manager or colleague in your workplace, you should consider involving HR.

Van de Ridder JMM, DeSanctis JT, Mookerjee AL, Rajput V. Micromanagement creates a nonconducive learning environment for a teaching team . J Grad Med Educ . 2020;12(5):639-640. doi:10.4300/JGME-D-20-00926.1

Walden University. Are you a micromanager? Ask yourself these questions .

Mookerjee A, Li B, Arora B, Surapaneni R, Rajput V, Van de Ridder M. Micromanagement during clinical supervision: solutions to the challenges . Cureus . 2022;14(3):e23523. doi:10.7759/cureus.23523

Cleary M, Hungerford C, Lopez V, Cutcliffe JR. Towards effective management in psychiatric-mental health nursing: the dangers and consequences of micromanagement . Issues Ment Health Nurs . 2015;36(6):424-429. doi:10.3109/01612840.2014.968694

Harvard Business School. How to stop micromanaging .

By Sanjana Gupta Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

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How to Help (Without Micromanaging)

Colin M. Fisher,
Teresa M. Amabile,
Julianna Pillemer

New research points to three strategies.

Extensive research shows that when employees get hands-on managerial support, they perform better than when they’re left to their own devices, but unnecessary or unwanted help can be demoralizing and counterproductive. So how do you intervene constructively?

The authors share three key lessons learned during 10 years of study: (1) Step in only when people are engaged in a challenging task and ready to accept help; (2) clarify that your role is to offer assistance, not take over the project or judge anyone; and (3) align the rhythm of your involvement to employees’ needs, determining whether the situation calls for intensive guidance in the short term or intermittent path clearing over a prolonged period. These strategies are especially valuable for helping teams that are physically separated, as so many are during the current pandemic.

“Micromanagement” is a dirty word in today’s workplaces. Bosses who intervene too often or too extensively in their subordinates’ activities get a bad reputation, and most forward-thinking organizations have come to value employee autonomy more than oversight. Research shows that people have strong negative emotional and physiological reactions to unnecessary or unwanted help and that it can erode interpersonal relationships. Even the U.S. Army general George S. Patton, a leader in one of the most traditional command-and-control groups in the world, understood the danger of micromanaging: He famously said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

CF Colin M. Fisher is an associate professor of organizations and innovation at University College London’s School of Management. His research examines how teams involved in creativity, improvisation, and complex decision-making can get the leadership and help they need.
TA Teresa M. Amabile is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and a coauthor of The Progress Principle . Her current research investigates how life inside organizations can influence people and their performance, as well as how people approach and experience the transition to retirement.
JP Julianna Pillemer is an assistant professor of management and organizations at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Her research examines the complex dynamics of interpersonal connections at work.

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EXPLORE Random Article

How to Deal with a Micromanager

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Julia Yacoob, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau . Dr. Julia Yacoob is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist practicing in New York City. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults coping with a variety of symptoms and life stressors. Dr. Yacoob earned an MS and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University, and pursued specialized training at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Institute for Behavior Therapy, and Bellevue Hospital Cancer Center. Dr. Yacoob is a member of the American Psychological Association, Women’s Mental Health Consortium, NYC Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Association, and Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,883 times.

Are you feeling undervalued and overly judged by a micromanaging boss? Working with a micromanager who makes you feel like they don’t really trust you to do your job is tough, but there are ways to make the work environment healthier for both of you! Read on for detailed tips on dealing with a micromanager so you can comfortably get back to work, along with ways to recognize a micromanager and understand why they act the way they do.

Things You Should Know

Start a dialogue with the micromanager and tell them how their behavior makes you feel. Set expectations and boundaries with them going forward.
Anticipate their demands, give them regular updates, and ask for advice to make them feel in control. Reinforce good behavior, so they change their ways.
Change your work style to gain the micromanager’s trust and use task management software for team accountability.

Working with a Micromanager

Step 1 Check in regularly to build trust between you and your manager.

Try an update like, “We released 5 new videos this week and are on track to launch another 8 next week. Does that line up with your goals for this campaign?”
With regular updates, the micromanager won’t start getting excessively worried about your progress. In time, they’ll learn to step back and let you work!
In your updates, try to reassure the micromanager and help them understand that they succeed when the whole team succeeds too.

Step 2 Get ahead of the micromanager’s demands.

You could say, “I know you like to stay in the loop. Would be okay if I sent you an email update every Friday morning, so you know how the project is coming along?”
Ask your manager how they prefer to communicate. Emails might be a good option so you both have a record of your conversations and updates.

Step 3 Politely talk to them about how their behavior makes you feel.

Offer clear, specific examples of their unhelpful behavior, so they can fully understand the problem and how to fix it.
Don’t use the word “micromanaging.” Most people don’t respond well when accused of being a micromanager.
Instead of saying, “You’re micromanaging me,” you could say, “It’s been tough to get work done on time when I’m also preparing daily updates for you. Could we look for a solution together?”

Step 4 Ask for advice to make them feel like they’re in control.

For example, you could say, “I’d really like to build my critical thinking and decision-making skills. I understand it’s a learning process, so I’d like your support and trust to help me grow. How do you suggest I do this?”
Guide their participation by asking for independence while reassuring them they’ll be involved. You could say, “Could I tackle this project by myself and get your feedback at each milestone?”

Step 5 Establish boundaries and expectations for both of you.

For example, you could set boundaries by saying, “I believe my track record proves that I can write and publish these press releases independently. Could I send you a copy of each one so you can follow my progress?”
If your manager is a perfectionist, showing that you understand their expectations will reduce their anxiety and ensure you don’t have to redo work later.
If they still want to be involved with every decision, gently remind them that their time is valuable and that delegating a few decisions might be more effective.
Reassure them that you’ll consult them with any questions that might come up. They’ll feel better knowing you’re open to feedback.

Step 6 Reinforce the micromanager’s good behavior.

For example, you could say something like, “I appreciate your trust in me to finish this project by the deadline. It really motivated me to do my absolute best.”
That way, you’re subtly showing the micromanager that encouraging you and trusting you to do your work is the best way to work with you.

Step 7 Identify your boss’s expectations and adapt your work habits to match them.

For example, if you’ve missed several deadlines in the past month, your boss might feel like they have to stay on top of you about it. Think about how you can increase your productivity, so your boss will trust you with deadlines.
Try to see things from the micromanager’s perspective, be ready for curveballs to get thrown your way, and be open about your needs, so you’re more resilient to their bad habits.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you don’t know how to fix a problem. A good manager will provide support and advice so you can do your best work!

Step 8 Use task management software to develop team accountability.

Research the pros and cons of each software tool before recommending them to the rest of the team. That way, you can make an informed choice.
If you can, offer to set up the system and teach the rest of the team how to use it. That will show your manager that you have initiative and drive!

Step 9 Raise the issue to a supervisor or human resources if it doesn’t stop.

The micromanager might need to attend a management training course to correct their behavior. Suggest this to a higher-level boss.
Team meetings can help everyone (including the micromanager) see the bigger picture and understand how their behavior affects the team’s progress.
No matter how frustrating the micromanager is, don’t complain about them behind their back to the rest of the team. It’s better to address the issue head-on.

Recognizing a Micromanager

Step 1 Micromanagers are perfectionists who need to be in charge.

For example, a micromanager might insist on documenting every detail of the work process or demand to be CC’d on every email.
Severe micromanagement can even turn into bullying. Micromanagers get angry when decisions are made without consulting them and need to do everything themselves to consider it “done right.”

Step 2 A micromanager gets too involved in other people’s work.

Micromanagers might even suggest unrealistic deadlines and get even more controlling when their team struggles to meet those deadlines.
They tend to take pride in correcting everyone else’s work and dish out a lot of criticism instead of constructive feedback. They’ll also give complex instructions that are hard to understand.

Step 3 Being micromanaged leads to resentment and makes you feel powerless.

This can lead to resentment, low morale in the workplace, and a lack of motivation to get work done. It can also stifle progress and interfere with the mental health of everyone who works with the micromanager.

Understanding Why People Micromanage

Step 1 Micromanagers don’t trust the people they work with.

Some micromanagers are arrogant and convinced that nobody is as smart or competent as them, although this isn’t always the case.
Micromanagement can also result from a previous bad work experience. The micromanager might be projecting their memories and assumptions onto you.

Step 2 They don’t have a strong sense of boundaries or self-awareness.

In a micromanager’s mind, your performance reflects their own. This can cause them to interfere too much with your work to ensure it reflects well on them.

Step 3 A micromanager might feel insecure and afraid of missing out.

When someone is new to management, they might start the job while still in the mindset of an individual contributor—which can make them think they have to monitor everyone with the same intensity.

Step 4 They might be stressed and feel pressured to do a good job.

Study the micromanager’s attitude. Do they seem stressed most of the time? They might be under a lot of pressure and act out because of it.

Step 5 Your work style might conflict with theirs and trigger their concern.

Speed is another work style conflict. If you work a little slower than they’re used to, the micromanager might feel like they need to speed things up.

Step 6 They might be unhappy with your work performance.

Micromanagers might also intervene if you don’t understand the work. It’s okay to get confused, but you should also ask for help rather than delay things by wondering what to do.
You might have taken on too much work. It’s natural to want to prove yourself by saying “yes” to everything, but you might also end up dropping the ball because you have too much to do!

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Career Smart

Managing micromanagers

How to deal with a micromanager. or, how to not be a micromanager..

“The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” — Princess Leia to Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars IV: A New Hope . (Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wntX-a3jSY )

Those of us who have toiled under a micromanaging boss have fantasized about saying this, or something like it, usually at the peak of our frustration. A “boss” could be any person or organization that has power over your work, including a direct supervisor, project manager, client, or board of directors.

What micromanaging looks like

Simply defined, to micromanage is to “direct and control a person, group, or system with excessive or unnecessary oversight or input.” But what does it really look like? Micromanaging has a sliding scale (some might call it a slippery slope). On the milder end of the spectrum, micromanagers delegate simpler, mundane tasks to subordinates, check on progress frequently, and leave their subordinates feeling like they can’t do anything right because they no longer have decision-making or problem-solving room to do their job.

Sliding to the more severe, micromanagers control others’ time, have an unquenchable need for reports and data, correct the work of their subordinates, or request rework multiple times. These hard cases also delegate and get in the middle of the work being completed—and as many of us know, they call your home at night to discuss “just one more thing.”

Why some micromanage

Micromanagers have an intense need for control . In fact, micromanagers often were promoted because of their ability to solve problems, manage budgets, meet their numbers, and control the operations. But at the higher level, the need for strategic thinking and developing others becomes more important . Because this transition into new skills can be uncomfortable and difficult, many managers remain in their operational comfort zones and never leave the day-to-day minutia for which they were so richly rewarded.

There are two main reasons people micromanage:

They have anxiety about their work, which they alleviate by ordering and controlling others.
They lack of trust in their subordinates; they do not believe other workers will complete a task as well as needed.

And here’s the kicker: Micromanagers almost never recognize that they are micromanagers. They simply do not realize they have poor leadership and management skills. When pushed, they recast their management style as detail-oriented, organized, and mildly perfectionistic.

Five things you can do

If you have Darth Vader breathing down your neck, you can either close your eyes and trust the Force, or try these coping mechanisms:

Don’t combat the micromanagement. If you do, it most likely will get worse.
Consider that all micromanagers are not created equally—each has his/her own idiosyncrasies. Watch the behavior of your boss or colleague, looking for patterns and swings in mood and attitude. Micromanagers are extremely predictable. Learning the work patterns will help you predict and respond more fittingly.
Increase the trust between you and the micromanager. Micromanagers do not trust that the work you do will be as thorough and competent as theirs. Your job is to make every effort to deliver within budget, on time, and on target. You need to become consistently predictable in your timing and quality.
Anticipate the needs of your micromanager. After you’ve really mastered the work behaviors and patterns, you can be proactive to ward off potential stressors, as opposed to reacting once the sky falls and the seeming crisis begins.
Keep your micromanager in the loop with regular updates . If you inform him/her/them of progress, discuss details, and establish agreements about the work and processes in advance, they will feel informed, closer to the actual work itself, and hence, in control. In some ways, they are in control, but more importantly, you are thriving rather than suffering, at least until you get promoted or find a new job on your own terms.

Amy Smith is an associate professor at Concordia University Chicago. She has more than 20 years of experience in management and leadership. She was a presenter at the 2012 Career Smart Engineers Conference.

References

Ashkenas, R. (2011, November 15). Why People Micromanage .

Gallo, A. (2011, September 22). Stop Being Micromanaged .

North, S. (2012, May 7). How to Manage a Micromanager. Forbes , 1-3.

Serrat, O. (2011, March). The travails of micromanagement. Cornell University IRL School , 100, 1-5.

Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.

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Let It Go: Teaching a Micromanager How to Chill

Constant checking in, dissatisfaction with work products can reflect insecurity

A woman is holding her head up while a group of people are around her.

You can keep a calendar as well as anyone. So why is it that three weeks before a deadline, the boss e-mails to remind you of it, does the same thing the next week, and then again the week after?

Suffocating bosses—also known as micromanagers—often send this message to subordinates: “I don’t trust you to get the job done, nor to do it right.”

“The micromanager is down in the weeds, swamped in minutiae,” said Teresa A. Daniel, dean of the Human Resource Leadership (HRL) Program at Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky., and chairwoman for the HRL concentration in the university’s Ph.D. in management program. “Contrary to the best social science research—which shows that people who believe that they are being watched perform at a lower level—micromanagers require incessant updates and daily huddles, and they closely scrutinize, and often criticize, how their employees complete tasks.”

Constantly checks on where workers are.
Asks to be copied on all team e-mails.
Is reluctant to delegate.
Breaks projects into small tasks that make employees feel that their contributions are insignificant.
Checks and double-checks on deadlines and asks for frequent updates, even about small tasks.
Rarely asks for input from others.
Applies the same level of intensity and scrutiny to every task, failing to prioritize.
Is never quite satisfied with a work product.
Takes great pride in correcting or changing people’s work.
Is subject to extreme mood swings.

What Makes a Micromanager Behave This Way?

Often, micromanagers have good intentions and don’t behave out of malice, said Rob Bogosian, founder and principal consultant of Naples, Fla.-based RVB Associates Inc., an executive leadership consultancy, and co-author of Breaking Corporate Silence (BCS Publishing, 2014). Instead, their smothering management style typically reflects an extreme need for control and a need to dominate.

“They tend to see the world as a place that needs lots of structure to avoid chaos,” Bogosian said. “When the boss takes the solution to the finish line, their adrenal system dumps feel-good chemicals into the body. The micromanager scores the winning solution and is rewarded physiologically, so why stop? They are most likely addicted to control. Of course, the micromanager is unlikely to admit their addiction. We are likely to hear [from the boss] about the inadequacies of other employees.”

Hyacinth Guy, vice president of human resources at Caribbean Airlines Ltd., based in Piarco, Trinidad, sees it differently. Micromanagers, she said, tend to have deep-seated insecurities.

“A micromanager is a person who probably has a poor self-image, so he or she doesn’t believe they deserve to be where they are, and so thinks the same about the people they supervise,” she said. “So the constant checking and looking over employees’ shoulders are really checks on their own ability to do the job. They don’t believe in themselves, so they believe in no one else.”

How the Micromanager Affects Others

Employees who work for micromanagers often feel that their boss doesn’t trust them or value their contributions. This can cause workers to feel disrespected, devalued and demoralized.

“Employees want some level of autonomy,” Guy said. “If I’m hired to do a job, I want to know that you have the confidence that I would do that job. If you are constantly fact-checking me, I feel hapless in the organization. That reduces my productivity.”

The manager’s mood swings can convince subordinates to avoid interacting with him or her. Daniel calls this a “climate of fear.”

Over time, employees’ professional growth is stunted because the micromanager won’t give them opportunities to shine, she said.

Ultimately, micromanaging “squashes the spirit and motivation of even the most talented and driven employee,” said Daniel, author of Stop Bullying at Work: Strategies and Tools for HR, Legal, & Risk Management Professionals 2nd Edition (Society for Human Resource Management, 2016). This, she said, “can quickly lead to burnout or, worse, talented employees electing to simply leave the organization.”

Moreover, the micromanager may eventually sabotage his or her own career or managerial reputation.

Handling the Micromanager

Changing micromanagers, Guy said, often begins when they are shocked into realizing that their management style is offensive.

Guy tells of how she dealt with one supervisor who would remind subordinates each day of what they had to accomplish. The woman tracked the time they took for bathroom breaks and would sometimes stand over workers as they completed reports.

The manager told Guy she did these things because employees are inclined to slack off if they aren’t monitored.

“Clearly, that is her worldview of people, perhaps based on how she was socialized and conditioned,” Guy said.

Guy had employees conduct an anonymous evaluation of the woman. When she earned a 2 rating from her subordinates—out of a possible 5—she was appalled.

She “had to be shocked into the realization that she was not an effective supervisor,” Guy said. “I sent her on some supervisory training. I assigned her a coach who worked to raise her awareness of how she was viewed and who helped with delegating, time management and increasing [her] productivity by focusing on high-payoff activities. Then I placed supervision as a factor in her overall [performance] assessment. She is still a work in progress but going in the right direction.”

Bogosian said such coaching requires great patience.

“The belief systems that create the micromanager may not go away overnight,” he said. “Weaning the micromanager off their controlling belief system takes time and constant feedback. More importantly, the micromanager must know that they’re safe when they allow others to succeed. It doesn’t diminish their value but actually enhances it.”

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COMMENTS

Is it normal for good PhD advisors to micromanage early PhD students?
In these circumstances it is normal for a supervisor to micro-manage at the start. In the ideal world students are given more freedom and responsibility as they learn, and prove themselves trust-worthy. In practice only the best students reach full autonomy in 3.5 years, and some need micro-managing right till the end.
4 Signs Your Boss Is A Micromanager And How To Challenge Them
Consequently, this prevents the team from flourishing. Moreover, it increases stress, destroys happiness and decreases productivity and drives burnout. Thus leading to unhealthy habits such as ...
Should a PhD Supervisor check if the methodology is correct?
A PhD supervisor has a duty of helping you to navigate your area and structure your work. However, they should not micromanage each step their student does. It is student's responsibility to understand the details of operating procedures, do the background reading, fill in the missing details sometimes (checking their own suggestions) and ask ...
Types Of Difficult PhD Supervisors And How To Successfully ...
Absentee supervisors are those who are not present during your PhD, either physically (i.e. they are away travelling a lot) or metaphorically (they are so busy that you never see them). This is a common problem with senior professors and those who supervise lots of PhD students. Without advice and guidance from a supervisor, performing your PhD ...
Managing Your Relationship with Your PhD Supervisor
There seems to be something in the nature of the supervisor-supervisee relationship that can feel inherently disempowering. In the years that I've worked with PhD students, I've heard my fair share of horror stories ranging from unresponsive supervisors to those who micromanage their students or give insulting feedback.
Micromanagement During Clinical Supervision: Solutions to the
Micromanagement can be perceived by some as a beneficial component during the early immersion of the trainee with the rationalization for better patient outcomes and safety. However, in the long term, it threatens the learning environment and erodes the complex relationship between accountability, trust, and autonomy.
Ten simple rules for choosing a PhD supervisor
Rule 3: Expectations, expectations, expectations. A considerable portion of PhD students feel that their program does not meet original expectations [].To avoid being part of this group, we stress the importance of aligning your expectations with the supervisor's expectations before joining a research group or PhD program.
postdocs
Micromanaging requires a lot of time, effort and thought. It's not an easy or pleasant strategy. Being control freak is not fun. PI's are pushed into it often because they: are responsible for large and complex projects. do not have time to do all the work personally and have to rely on postdocs.
Micromanagement in clinical supervision: a scoping review
In terms of when clinical supervisors who micromanage will feel comfortable granting autonomy to a trainee, the use of the EPA-based assessment may be a reasonable solution. Our review revealed that in the vast majority of studies, micromanagement was associated with individual supervisor factors, particularly behavioral and personality factors ...
PhD supervisors: be better mentors
The supervisor has mentoring responsibilities beyond academic performance, including the student's well-being. Many PhD students crack under the strain of publishing pressures and deteriorating ...
What Makes A Good PhD Supervisor?
4. Is a Good Mentor with a Supportive Personality. A good PhD supervisor should be supportive and willing to listen. A PhD project is an exercise in independently producing a substantial body of research work; the primary role of your supervisor should be to provide mentoring to help you achieve this.
6 Signs of A Micromanager (And How To Deal With Them)
Build trust: Many micromanaging bosses operate from fear and distrust. They may lack the leadership skills to delegate tasks appropriately. One way to overcome this is by demonstrating your trustworthiness and loyalty. Remember to highlight your boss' contributions and avoid gossiping about them.
What are the advantages and challenges of working with a young PhD
I have a young PhD supervisor, and honestly, I wouldn't recommend it. My supervisor tries to micromanage my day-to-day work, and actually ends up being more of a hindrance at times. I feel a lot of pressure to produce publication-worthy work, as my supervisor is still making a name for themselves, but is unable to provide the funding ...
How to Deal With Micromanagers: What to Say
Focus on achieving the outcome instead of scrutinizing every detail of the process. Be open to different ideas: It's important to be open to other people's ideas and approaches. This can help you find creative solutions to problems. Establish trust: Trusting others is key to letting go of micromanaging tendencies.
How to Help (Without Micromanaging)
We've uncovered three key strategies for being a hands-on boss without micromanaging: (1) Time your help so it comes when people are ready for it, (2) clarify that your role is to be a helper ...
How to Deal with a Micromanager & Stop Controlling Behavior
Things You Should Know. Start a dialogue with the micromanager and tell them how their behavior makes you feel. Set expectations and boundaries with them going forward. Anticipate their demands, give them regular updates, and ask for advice to make them feel in control. Reinforce good behavior, so they change their ways.
Managing micromanagers
A "boss" could be any person or organization that has power over your work, including a direct supervisor, project manager, client, or board of directors. What micromanaging looks like Simply defined, to micromanage is to "direct and control a person, group, or system with excessive or unnecessary oversight or input."
Let It Go: Teaching a Micromanager How to Chill
Breaks projects into small tasks that make employees feel that their contributions are insignificant. Checks and double-checks on deadlines and asks for frequent updates, even about small tasks ...
How to Deal with Micromanagers At Work
Acknowledge feedback positively: Show appreciation for feedback while demonstrating how you'll apply it moving forward. 2. Understand your manager's perspective and triggers. It can be draining and challenging to deal with a difficult boss or a micromanaging work environment, often leading to burnout.
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Micromanagement in clinical supervision: a scoping review

Marcus A. Henning

J. M. Monica van de Ridder

Vijay Rajput

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What Makes A Good PhD Supervisor?

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The Role of a PhD Supervisor

Qualities to Look For in A Good PhD Supervisor

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Why Is Micromanagement a Toxic Trait?

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