64: Dealing with a Micromanager - An On-Air session with Dr. Lisle

Most people assume a micromanaging boss is a control freak who needs to be put in his place. Dr. Lisle says that's exactly the wrong read. Your micromanager isn't a jerk, he's terrified, and the strategies your instincts are telling you to use will only make things worse.

In this on-air session, a listener describes a new boss who demands daily itineraries, audits his expense reports over the weekend, and sends back his schedule with minutes allotted to every task. Dr. Lisle diagnoses the behavior as hyper-conscientiousness, the same circuitry that drives OCD and anorexia, and walks through a specific strategy: flood the circuit with data, de-escalate rather than push back, and plan the exit early before the golden handcuffs lock.

Key question: How do you deal with a micromanager boss without losing your job or your sanity?

Beat Your Genes is co-hosted by evolutionary psychologist Dr. Doug Lisle, PhD and Dr. Nathan Gershfeld, DC.

New episodes every other week.

YouTube: youtube.com/@BeatYourGenes

beatyourgenes.org

Doug Lisle: esteemdynamics.com

Nathan Gershfeld: fastingescape.com

X: @BeatYourGenes

Intro and outro: City of Happy Ones. Ferenc Hegedus. Licensed for use. Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast