The term micromanagement is a relative term, meaning something different from manager to manager. Micromanagement is the practice of carefully observing or controlling the work of your employees or team members. Micromanagement is rarely looked on as a positive thing because it is demotivating to employees and is rarely helpful. Show the interviewer that you are capable of leading effectively.
"To me, micromanaging is giving unnecessary supervision to your team members, telling them how to do their job or controlling the smallest of their moves. I have been micro-managed by bosses in the past, and it's truly awful and irritating. I like to give my subordinates the benefit of the doubt and let them work their magic in peace, with the space required to do their job."
"To me, micromanagement is when you unnecessarily tell your employees what to do. It is a waste of time and, in my opinion, if someone needs to be micromanaged to perform, they should not work for me in the first place. It's important to give employees space to move."
"I define micromanagement as the practice of towering over your employees' every move. I believe this to be a waste of time. If you cannot trust your employees to do a great job, why are they on your team? Instead, I like to give clear guidance from the start and have an open door policy for all questions an employee may have."
"In marketing, there is rarely time to watch over each team members' progress every minute of the day. I do not micromanage. Instead, I show trust to those on my team. I give many opportunities for growth and learning, and check in regularly to ensure understanding along each project stage."
"When I was a junior retail sales representative I experienced a floor manager who watched my every move and micromanaged me. It was unnerving and did not help my performance. I will never do that to a staff member. Instead, I coach and mentor and make myself openly available for help and learning opportunities."
"Many sales organizations are known for micromanaging. I keep a close eye on my team members' performance as I look at their sales on a daily basis, and how close they are to target. I like to keep this close eye so that I can pivot them to success if their achievements are sliding for the month. In my mind, this is not micromanaging because it is a helpful action, versus a controlling act."
"Teachers are often known for pushing their students to work harder, and for squeezing the best grades that they can out of their students. I do not consider this micromanaging - more, I think of this as continual encouragement. When I know that a student has more in them than they are giving, I will push and encourage them to do better."