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I'm all in for good reviews, but "micromanagement" isn't something anyone should wear with pride. Speaking from experience, working with one erodes your soul. From Wikipedia:

Micromanagement is a management style characterized by behaviors such as an excessive focus on observing and controlling subordinates and an obsession with details.

Micromanagement generally has a negative connotation, suggesting a lack of freedom and trust in the workplace, and an excessive focus on details at the expense of the "big picture" and larger goals.



the article is less micromanag'ey than the title implies, and maybe describes some constructive precision that a newer manager who had come up out of tech might have some hesitancy to apply. it seemed more like self deprecation to me.

however, agreed that actual micromanagement is an antipattern. when one understands management as "to extract value from," micromanagement is the definition of doing it poorly. micro-value-extraction is as obtuse as it sounds.

doing work through other hands instead of taking the output and delivering it to who they are managing on behalf of is almost always a waste of value. I think of it as being as weird as living in a one bedroom apartment and taking time away from work to supervise your housekeeper while they work.




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