How to Work for a Control Freak

What you must first realize is that working for a control freak can have great benefits. By trying to invade your sphere and exert control, they usually end up doing half your work for you! Now for those of us with pride in our abilities as related to work, this can be frustrating and even highly insulting. I understand because I have been through this exact scenario. I worked for a company that allowed me free reign and charged me with a great amount of responsibility, then within a year made a transfer to another company, only to find that they had three times as many people staffed to do the same job, and a control freak boss that was constantly intruding!

It was a real shock to the system, and extremely educational for me as far as how different companies can go about the same thing in entirely different ways, both fully convinced that theirs is the optimal philosophy. I quickly adapted.

The main problem with a control freak boss is that they steal your shine. By basically doing everything themselves, or at the very least, every difficult task themselves, they never allow you the space to prove your own worth. They never give you enough room to maneuver. They reduce your image to much less than you are actually capable of. You can try mentioning this to them, as I have, but do not be surprised if your complaints fall on deaf ears. A control freak thinks it is his job to intrude, and when it is your boss the point is hard to argue.

But there are benefits to working for a control freak as well. By stealing your shine they are basically doing your job. You would be wise to just sit back and assume the role they have left behind, thinking of the paycheck as you watch in awe as this person does the hard work themselves! Most bosses have a sort of supervisory role where they sort of take an overview of things from the background, never really getting their hands dirty. But most control freak bosses intrude on your space and start to do your work for you.