There is good micromanagement where the person managing understands the problem, has reasonable expectation of what can be accomplished, and pushes the team to perform to their max. There is bad micromanagement, often by non-technical people lacking a clear direction and who want a zillion status updates on what you have done (which are then ignored).<p>A good micromanager can push an amazing level of performance out of a team for a short time, but at a high cost - it is a bit like giving the team amphetamines - the performance is great for a short time, but the downer later is a killer.