Part 1 of the “Diagnosing Toxic Leadership” Series
“Every decision has to go through them—even the small stuff.”
“They want to be cc’d on every single email.”
“I thought they were on vacation—I still got called every day to check in.”
These are real statements made by employees reporting to micromanaging leaders.
Steve Jobs is often remembered as a visionary. But those who worked closely with him also described a man obsessed with every pixel, every font, every product detail—down to the shade of gray in a user interface. It’s rumored that he once called an engineer at 2 a.m. to debate a minor design feature.
To some, these behaviors might be signs of passion. But to employees who have to navigate them daily, they represent micromanagement at a near-pathological level.
It’s important to note that not every micromanager has a diagnosable personality disorder. However, for the purpose of this blog series, we’re focusing on behaviors that lean in that direction. Steve Jobs is an extreme example, but in organizations across all industries, far less iconic leaders display the same obsessive need to control the people and work in their organizations. Their constant oversight doesn’t stem from brilliance it often signals something deeper and more toxic.
What Is Personality?
Personality is the enduring pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that shape how we relate to others. In the workplace, these patterns influence how leaders lead, how they show up to their direct reports and peers, and how teams function.
When these traits become deeply ingrained, rigid, and dysfunctional patterns of behavior that cause problems in relationships, work, or daily life they can cross into diagnosable territory known as personality disorders.
Later in this series, we will explore how these behaviors affect entire organizations.
What Is Micromanagement?
Micromanagement isn’t just being “hands-on.” It’s a pattern of excessive control, obsessive oversight, and a lack of trust in the very staff leaders that have been hired to lead their function and execute based on their expertise.
Micromanaging leaders:
- Undermine autonomy
- Block innovation
- Insert themselves into every detail of the business
- Ultimately, they suffocate the very teams they’re meant to empower, which created an insidious level of toxicity throughout the organization.
Which Personality Disorders Drive Micromanaging Leadership?
Research and clinical experience point to three personality disorders most aligned with toxic micromanagement:
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
These leaders are perfectionistic, rigid, and rule bound. Delegating feels dangerous to them. They believe there’s only one right way to do things, their way. Often, they manage their personal anxiety through obsessive control of others, which they see as necessary to maintain a high standard.
Clients I’ve worked with who exhibit OCPD traits often require their staff to engage in time-consuming, detailed documentation tasks that well-adjusted leaders would typically entrust to their direct reports, allowing them to work at a higher more strategic level in the organization.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)
Micromanagement here is driven by ego. These leaders need constant validation and often fear being outshined. The old saying “good leaders hire talented people and then get out of the way” is not something narcissistic micromanagers believe in. They hover not to support but to protect their image and claim credit for others’ work.
Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD)
For paranoid leaders, micromanagement is a form of self-protection. They don’t trust their staff and feel the need to be involved in every conversation, often misusing their position and authority to include themselves in every discussion. This need for information sooths the anxiety that arises when they don’t have every detail. They struggle to create bridges that allow their teams to engage with other leaders across the organization as they don’t trust direct reports to represent them correctly. Independence is viewed as disloyalty, and every action is scrutinized for signs of betrayal.
Why It Matters: The Hidden Damage
Micromanaging behavior isn’t just annoying, it’s corrosive.
Teams under micromanagers become:
- Anxious
- Disengaged
- Risk-averse
- Innovation dies. Collaboration fades. Psychological safety disappears.
Over time, high-performing professionals leave. The organization’s culture weakens, and talent pipelines erode, leaving these leaders often to only hire junior employees who will tolerate constant oversight.
This pattern aligns with the framework in the book “Diagnosing Toxic Leadership”, where leadership dysfunction often reflects deeper psychological roots—ones frequently overlooked in traditional leadership development models.
What’s Coming Next in This Series
Over the next few posts, we’ll explore the full impact of micromanaging leadership, including:
- Erosion of trust
- Breakdown of psychological safety
- Stifled growth and autonomy
- Low morale and burnout
- Distorted accountability
- How organizations and individuals can work with or around these leaders
Have you worked under a micromanager who fits one of these profiles?
How did it affect your work and wellbeing?
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About Dr. Ollie G. Barnes III
Dr. Ollie G. Barnes III is an organizational performance consultant, keynote speaker, and author of Diagnosing Toxic Leadership: Understanding the Connection Between Personality Disorders and Toxic Leader Behaviors. As the founder of Impact Performance Consultants, he brings over 25 years of experience helping organizations transform workplace culture, improve leadership effectiveness, and build psychologically safe environments. Learn more at ImpactPerformanceConsultants.com