BMAL 500 Micromanaging in leadership.pdf

Micromanaging 1

Micromanaging

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School of Masters in Executive Leadership, Liberty University

Author Note

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I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to XXXXX

Email: XXXXXX

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Abstract

place and how I came to the conclusion of why these things are the way they are. Using my

approved article, Managing from the Middle: Frontline Supervisors and Perceptions of Their

Organizational Power, I will relate the article to my current work environment. I will give

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Micromanaging

Retain, and Inspire" since 1953. The team is a selective process, so not anyone could join, you

are vetted among your peers, ranging from work criteria to personal achievements. The team

consists of one hundred and twenty enlisted personnel of various supporting agencies, with

abundance of this personality, you do get some quarrels occasionally.

The high tempo traveling and flying are held together by two parts of the house.

Operations will control the flying schedule with the pilots and allotted aircraft availability at the

specific locations. Then there is the Mainataince side of the house where we provide the

available aircraft and follow a strict maintenance schedule following each aircraft's hourly and

calendar inspections. These aircraft are older than most of the cars we drive, so they are more

susceptible to daily breaks and availability change. The maintenance side of the house is

overseen by our Maintenance Officer and controlled by the Lead Production Superintendent.

The Maintenance Officer, a great man and smart, is our direct liaison to the Operations side of

the house, which empowers the Lead Pro Supper to handle the aircraft.

The major overriding issue is the Lead Pro Supper is a Micromanager. According to

Webster Dictionary, a micromanager is to try to control or manage all the small parts of

something, such as an activity in a way that is usually not wanted or that causes problems (Wyld,

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1963). Using the three-step approach from the textbook, we have our situation, and the

Stoker (2013) said, "Authority – when abused through micromanagement, intimidation, or verbal

or nonverbal threats – makes people shut down, and productivity ceases." Some Taskmasters

micromanage and often suffocate and kill employee creativity. They are consumed with bottom-

2015). This is a crucial factor with-in our rank structure; it creates a baseline foundation of

empowerment.

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he

wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it,"

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th United States President.

The Lead Pro Supper has moved up through the ranks over the year, working various

positions. This gives him the sensibility of the know it all, which is very toxic leadership. I feel

he might never move out from the micro power level into the macro power level with their rank.

The macro power level is power over the "Big picture" functions, such as policy making,

dissemination, and operations oversight (Kras, Portillo, Taxman, 2017). This inability to allow

the younger ranks to grow creates a gap of uncertainty and progression. Toxic behaviors include,

but are not limited to, intimidating, bullying, manipulating (Machiavellianism), micromanaging,

arrogance (narcissism), and engaging in abusive or unethical behavior (Webster, Brough, Daly,

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2016). An organization with a climate that is perceived as supportive – where leaders care, love,

In the article I have chosen as my basis for my research, Managing from the Middle:

Frontline Supervisors and Perceptions of Their Organizational Power, I feel correlates to my

current environment. The article argues that street-level police officers have significant power

over the street‐level Staff they supervise (Kras, Taxman, 2017). In the military environment, our

lower level N.C.O.'s (Non-commissioned Officers) serve as the frontline supervisors from Staff

Sergeants to Technical Sergeants. Frontline supervisors play a critical role in maintaining

relationships between upper management and frontline workers (Kras, Taxman, 2017).

Frontline supervisors are responsible for interpreting and disseminating top‐down

correctional policies in their offices (Kras, Taxman, 2017). This is vital to how processes get

handled appropriately. The frontline supervisor receives the information of guidance from the

top down and processes it. The frontline supervisor also gets data from the street level and must

process the actions to coincide with the polices that have come down from above. This can be

very stressful at times. I know firsthand that is you do not mitigate your stressors, they will catch

up to you quickly.

Sustained destructive leadership behaviors are associated with adverse outcomes that

produce serious workplace problems, yet scant research into how followers effectively cope with

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toxic leader behaviors (Webster et al.; 2016). Frontline supervisors' reports of disempowerment

frontline supervisors' perceived authority. Street‐level workers view frontline supervisors as

empowered policymakers, while frontline supervisors view themselves as disempowered go‐

betweens (Kras, Taxman, 2017).

passion for the products. The creative people, who are the ones who care passionately,

have to persuade five layers of management to do what they know is the right thing to

do." ~ Steve Jobs, C.E.O. of Apple

The disempowerment can turn us into these mindless robots possessing no skills, just the

ability to regurgitate and how we are told to do something. This leads to a lack of innovation and

creativity. There are policies for a reseason in a military and police environment and how

specific things are handled. I feel there is always that grey area where gut intuition must control

the underlining situation and process it accordingly. This can be a very touchy subject in the

current police force and the military for rules of engagement.

In the aircraft maintenance world, we have technical data that guides us on fixing the

issue step by step. There are processes to those technical data that you could only learn

efficiency by doing them a few hundred times. The technical data could not tell you these types

of things. This, I would relate to street level knowledge. Understanding these processes only

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makes the individual more efficient for time management purposes. The knowledge gained over

The complexity of the organizational and individual level tension here is most

substantively reflected in the misalignment of street‐level officers and frontline supervisors'

expectations of power relationships, especially concerning bypassing (Kras, Taxman, 2017). I

Within my organization with my Lead Pro Supper, telling me how and others he would

like something done, takes away my ability to process the task efficiently. If that person does the

bypass, they will be going to my troops and changing my plan with their own, not knowing is I

have something lined up for task processing for future jobs. "It doesn't make sense to hire smart

people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people, and they tell us what to do," Steve

Jobs, C.E.O. of Apple. There is one aspect of the Lead Pro Supper that I do not understand.

They can use denial to their advantage. This person will say one thing, and when it does not

work out, they backtrack and say they never said that. This is very difficult in a structured

military environment; I cannot callout their "Applesauce." The most frequently reported ways of

coping when dealing with toxic leadership were as follows: seeking social support, leaving the

organization, or taking leave, ruminating, and challenging the leader (Webster et al.; 2016). I

could try going around that person, but that does not look very good for my personality and

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professionally. "Be the Chief but never the Lord," Lao Tzu, Ancient Chinese Philosopher, 6-4

is damaging to productivity when two steps forward lead to four steps backward. Organizational

climate is different from more micro concepts that consider individual behaviors or attitudes

(Cuyler, Guerrero, 2019). The Directive style of the Lead Pro Supper displays more autocratic.

against the advice of his production workers (Kinicki, 2021).

Step 3

The final process in the problem-solving framework is my recommendation. It would be

to simple to say that the Lead Pro Supper needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, until someone

higher than their current position notices, it will be a time factor for that person to move onto

bigger and better things. So, what do we do in the meantime? Just bypass the time and lay low?

That is impossible; the mission needs to get done, and all hands need to participate actively. So

how do we deal with this Autocratic Pro Supper?

Suppose I could give some personal advice to the Pro Supper without any repercussions.

Appropriately, I would suggest that they could fine-tune their management skills by seeking

outside training. The Airfolcre offers a Lean Six Sigma program without the certifications to

help advance its current members. Could this help this individual? Possibly. Identifying critical

success factors for Lean Six Sigma is important as it allows organizations to focus their efforts

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on these factors to ensure success (Laureani, Antony, 2018). The civilian sector is a business

that Bureaucratic thinking.

We all deal with things differently in life. This includes the balancing of life and work

stressors. The balancing factor is what makes it very difficult. When these things get out of

finding other employment. Some of us are locked into a contract the holds us accountable for a

specific duration. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away

from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as

God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:31-32, ESV). Trying to take time off from work could

be difficult, especially when the leader that is causing the stress is the one that approves your

time off. I have found that focusing on proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise works best for me.

Additionally, I had to practice the concept of leaving work at work, meaning I do not bring it

home with me. I try to shake off the day as best as I can; somedays it is more challenging than

others. In the words of Joyce Sunada, "If you do not take time for your wellness, you will be

forced to take time for your illness" (McManus, 2020).

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But

I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be