The CEO founded the 30 person company, and there are no other investors- it's all his money. He's a micro-manager who won't let the VPs of sales, product management or engineering make any decisions without his OK. Basically, the CEO comes up with all strategies, and the VPs execute his vision. He smart, and he knows it- which makes him super cocky and he can't be contradicted. I'd like to think that the VP of sales can figure out how to sell our software, and the VP of engineering can be responsible for making it. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Anyone have any advice on how to tell a CEO with no superiors to let everyone do their jobs?
The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
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Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#2Is this a place you want to work? You can deftly share articles like HBR "Why Aren't You Delegating?" http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2012/07/why-arent-you-delegating.ht... , but at the end of the day the CEO is totally in charge.
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#3Sadly, the first step is to realize that (1) he really thinks he's doing the right thing -- or at least he is choosing the necessary, lesser of evils when he makes these interventions; and (2) that this impression is formed on the basis of a lot of (lopsided) data, from his PoV.
By "lopsided" I mean, he's probably seen a lot of evidence that his business continues to thrive when he continually takes the reins in every aspect of its execution -- but what he hasn't seen is the extent to which it can really thrive when people feel truly enabled and empowered to contribute creatively to productive outcomes (at least within their subdomains of the operation). Even when it comes at the comparatively low cost of, yes, occasionally making small-scale mistakes.
Unfortunately, I don't know a good way to tell a CEO that, like Bjork teaches us, "there's more to life than this." Last time I tried, the CEO just didn't get it (or he sorta tried to get it, but it just didn't stick), and our relationship unraveled shortly after that.
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#4Quit
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#5honestly unless you're a owner it's not your place to critique the management style of the ceo. yes if you disagree with something specific you should speak up, but the reality is that you're a hired hand. also if the ceo managed to scale up to 30 people without any help something tells me that either he's doing something right or has enough money banked to make and learn from his own mistakes.
now if you don't like the ceo or that culture you should leave. although unless the ceo is a trust fund kid with cash to burn i think i'd want to learn something from someone who went from one person to thirty (because that's damn hard to do without outside funding).
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#6You know, sometimes it's best to leave others to solve their own problems. The executives in your company can worry about themselves. How is the CEO affecting your work?
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#7honestly unless you're a owner it's not your place to critique the management style of the ceo. yes if you disagree with something specific you should speak up, but the reality is that you're a hired hand. also if the ceo managed to scale up to 30 people without any help something tells me that either he's doing something right or has enough money banked to make and learn from his own mistakes. now if you don't like…
also if the ceo managed to scale up to 30 people without any help something tells me that either he's doing something right or has enough money banked to make and learn from his own mistakes.
How do you know this business was built by the CEO? It's very frequently the case that this kind of CEO is adding no value and is simply adept at taking credit for their underlings' work.
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#8If you're already invested in the company and it's treating you well in other areas (culture/pay/technology) then you have the choice to actively try to change the company.
It's likely that your CEO doesn't trust others to make the best decisions, which is not a great way to run a company. It's going to take a lot of time and a huge amount of effort to change this mindset by demonstrating your capabilities. I would progressively take more ownership of your own area of the business and start making some of the smaller decisions that you would usually require the OK for.
I've done this in a similar situation and it worked out for me. The owner still wasn't happy because he felt it could have been done better his way. But as I took more decisions into my own hands he began to see that it was alright to let go of control, because in the end it worked out. Good luck to you.
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#9You know, sometimes it's best to leave others to solve their own problems. The executives in your company can worry about themselves. How is the CEO affecting your work?
Agreed. The people being micromanaged are adults and should be able to fend for themselves. If your work is being affected, then it would be a cause of concern.
Re: The CEO of my company is a micro manager - how to make it stop?
#10honestly unless you're a owner it's not your place to critique the management style of the ceo. yes if you disagree with something specific you should speak up, but the reality is that you're a hired hand. also if the ceo managed to scale up to 30 people without any help something tells me that either he's doing something right or has enough money banked to make and learn from his own mistakes. now if you don't like…
>honestly unless you're a owner it's not your place to critique the management style of the ceo.
Of course it is. It's not like he's some ubermensch beyond flaws or with an infinite capacity for reasoning.
You can micromanage 0-20 people to success but it starts to fall apart when you begin to have employees whose names you only sorta remember.