micromanagement

Micromanagement is a style of employee oversight characterized by excessive observation and control. 

Because the implication is that the manager has no faith in employees’ ability to do their jobs, micromanagement tends to erode workers’ self-confidence and lead to a lack of initiative and engagement, which tends to hamper productivity. Other effects on staff include increases in stress levels, absenteeism, burnout and high turn-over. 

The characteristics of a typical micromanager may include perfectionism, high stress levels, insecurity and a lack of emotional intelligence. On the other hand, micromanagement may also be a function of a rigidly hierarchical corporate culture, which overemphasizes the need for  structure, rules and top-down control to guide business practices and activities. In such a corporate culture, managers themselves may be micromanaged; the effects filter down to the managers' subordinates.

Danny Crenshaw discusses micromanagement vs. efffective management: