overmanage

verb

over·​man·​age ˌō-vər-ˈma-nij 

overmanaged; overmanaging

transitive + intransitive

: to manage (a group, organization, etc.) with excessive control and supervision

overmanaging their staff

… seemed to overmanage his bullpen in a couple of games when he didn't have to.

—David Schoenfield

If stress is caused by parents overmanaging their children, then mindful parenting seems like the opposite of the solution.

—Hanna Rosin

Control the tendency to overmanage.

—Charles Curran and Lewis Miller

overmanagement

ˌō-vər-ˈma-nij-mənt 

noun

… leadership thinkers … who may have overemphasized overmanagement …

—Greg McKeown

overmanager noun

plural overmanagers

In practice, the overmanager physically or virtually hovers over her employees as they work on projects.

—Gregory Alford

Examples of overmanage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Leaders are overmanaging risk by having speakers memorize their speeches, like your eighth-grade oral book report. —John Evans, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023

Give them the freedom to manage and do their job, resisting the urge to overmanage them. —Expert Panel, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022

Collaborate — but don't overmanage or curtail affiliate creativity. —Lee-Ann Johnstone, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2021

In any case, my first bit of advice is this: Try not to overmanage. —Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined above