Micro-Managing and Stifling Creativity and Initiative
I've worked in a lot of different circumstances, and while I can function in just about any of them, there are some that certainly make it harder to excel and take personal initiative. Look at the military - it's not about personal initiative in the chain of command. It's about following orders, and while there may be room for personal interpretation in the execution of the orders, the fact that they are orders makes it pretty clear that the person following them is not expected to take responsibility for all of the consequences of the thought and planning that lead up to those orders - after all... he was given them.
Take another extreme, the entrepreneur. He's on his own. All decisions are his, all consequences are his. He's it. If there's a problem in the execution, or planning, or anything, he's all there is, and will live or die by those decisions.
When in corporate life, I've found that many times people want to believe they are in a military system ('...just follow my orders...') when what they might really need is a little more of the personal creativity and initiative that comes from some sense of ownership in the process.
No doubt - there are times that unpleasant things have to be done. They need to be done, and hopefully, the management will see that their role in this is just as much as those that might ultimately end up executing these unpleasant tasks. I've seen this handled very well, and I've seen it handled very poorly. I've seen the "boss" be there... after hours... walking around getting pizza and helping keep folks drinks filled and running to the printer for output. It's not a lot, but it shows that the manager believes he's part of this group and will be there pitching in however he can.
I've seen folks hand out the assignments and then walk away. Period.
One of the most frustrating situations I've been in lately was micro-management in a culture whose primary tenets include the entrepreneurial culture of self-empowerment. It was a classic case of the manager not "getting the memo" on how he needed to handle assignments and responsibilities in the larger scope of the organization.
It's hard to feel that it's going to be worth you going the extra mile, or coming up with a unique and interesting way to solve a problem when there's very little chance you'll get this done before management is over your shoulder asking you to explain this approach, and to compare it to this idea they had "last night". It's possible, that this manager is really good at the job, but most often times, that's not the case. It's possible that this employee is really playing off the reservation too much, but most often, that's not the case, either.
What I've found is that it's a misplaced sense of self-worth, or value to the company. A new manager will often think they need to be "hands-on" to help "their people" get the job done. But the opposite is often far closer to the ideal solution: back off... let the people come to him with questions, problems, clarify points... all those things that a only a manager can do. An employee typically doesn't need help doing their job, they need help getting their job done within the organization.
This is the "paper-pushing" that most managers hate. Well... guess what guys? That's what you're supposed to do! You're supposed to make each member of your team's like a little better. A little less full of paperwork and crud. That's your "value add" to the organization. They don't need you to type for them... or design for them. They need you to be their voice in the organization - their advocate.
And I guarantee that there's nothing that will crush creativity and initiative more than you, the manager, standing over their shoulder and asking them to explain every last detail of their work. If you wanted to know that badly, then grab a chair, check-out the code, and start coding yourself. But if that's not what you wanted to do, then realize that what you wanted is what you got. Accept it and live with it - or change, that's up to you.
I am not a manager now for exactly that reason. I enjoy the doing not the managing of the doers. I can do it, but it's just not as fun. So I choose not to. My choice. My consequences.
Just wish more managers understood this as well.