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Today’s post comes from Elisa Doucette, who is a regular contributor to The Curbside Marketer’s comments area. Elisa writes at her own blog, Ophelia’s Webb, where she contributes her “musings and ramblings from a not-so-average girl next door bumbling around the gorgeous metropolis that is Portland, Main. You can subscribe to her blog here.
It’s easy to watch The Office and decide quickly that Michael Scott is a complete and bumbling idiot. He never seems to say or do the right thing, his management style is laughable, and his business acumen is in line with a lumberman’s knowledge of the Prada fall line. You almost have to wonder how Michael got into a position as manager (well, co-manager now) of the Scranton, PA branch.
One theory is the Peter Princicple. Even though Michael got his job by stalking followinggoing to the same place as a woman who’s hair he was smelling on the bus, he quickly rose to the highest ranks of paper and office supply salespeople in the company. Before long there was no place higher for him to go, so they promoted him to management. With no experience or acumen. He surpassed a level where he was superior to instead fall into a position where he is thought to be incompetent.
It’s tough to be in management, especially when you used to do the same job that the people you manage do now. It’s even worse when you were pretty damn good at it. Because you know how succeed in the position, but you can’t just tell them. You are beaten down constantly by the stupid beaurocracy of corporations and you try to shield your employees from those realities. And managing employees can be somewhat akin to being a high school hall monitor. You’re always dealing with cliques, puppy love relationships (where Angela somehow dates half the office,) report cards and various other teenaged issues.
You have to look at the success of the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin despite the idiocy of some of the employees (Hello, what the hell does Creed do other than be “that creepy guy?!”) Additionally there has been very little turnover at the branch, the employees stay loyal. And they all seem to actually enjoy each other for the most part. Frequently David Wallace and the upper quadrants of management review and analyze Michael and the branch, wondering how they “do it.” But no one can ever figure it out.
Perhaps the truth is a little harder to believe. And that truth might be that Michael Scott is, for the most part, actually a good manager. I’ve learned this especially this season as Jim offers insights into the world that is management since he was recently promoted himself.
Leaders have charisma and appeal
Michael may be the satirical stereotype of clueless management, but no matter how many times he says stupid stuff, how many politically incorrect sexual harrassment seminars he hosts or how many murder mystery dinners he hosts, you just can’t help but like the guy. We’ve all tuned in for five seasons now. If he was unbearable, no one would care. Did anyone watch more than four episodes of “Cavemen?”
Leaders have innate ability to analyze situations and utilize resources
You’ve gotta wonder how the heck it is that Michael is knocked down again and again but somehow manages to bounce back up like one of those punching bag clowns. Even when he is attempting to randomly place promotion flyers for a Golden Ticket in paper boxes and it backfires horrifically badly, the client turns around and makes Dunder Mifflin their exclusive office supplier. Sure, some of it appears to be dumb luck. I’m not much of a believer in luck, though. We tend to make our own luck, taking advantage of opportunities we recognize.
Leaders create an “Inner Circle” of colleagues
No matter how much Dwight tries to suck up to Michael and earn his respect and accolades, Michael just won’t serve them up to Dwight. He can tell what Dwight’s alterior motives are, and he won’t have any part of it. Thought the admiration may be nice, Michael knows that Dwight is just not someone he can trust and rely on. Thus why he has always chosen Jim to be his right hand man, even though Jim has spent the majority of the series painstakingly glancing at the camera and shaking his head at Michael’s actions and statements.
Leaders “pay it foward” and empower their employees
There is no greater testament to a great manager and leader than the advancement of their employees. You’ve got Ryan getting promoted to Vice President, Pam chasing her artistic dreams and eventually stepping out from the receptionist position, Jim taking over as co-manager of the branch, and many more examples. More recently after Michael spent an entire episode berating Erin, the new receptionist, for now being “as good as Pam” he realizes that she does, in fact, have a lot to offer and encourages her to pursue her accounting interests.
So yes, Michael Scott might be an idiot most of the time. But really, other than the idiot stuff that actually provides a bit of amusement, don’t you kind of wish you had a manager with traits similar to him?
What do you look for in a manager? What are the good, the bad and the ugly sides of a manager’s face?
Today’s post comes from Elisa Doucette, who is a regular contributor to The Curbside Marketer’s comments area. Elisa writes at her own blog, Ophelia’s Webb, where she contributes her “musings and ramblings from a not-so-average girl next door bumbling around the gorgeous metropolis that is Portland, Main.” You can subscribe to her blog here.
It’s easy to watch The Office and decide quickly that Michael Scott is a complete and bumbling idiot. He never seems to say or do the right thing, his management style is laughable, and his business acumen is in line with a lumberman’s knowledge of the Prada fall line. You almost have to wonder how Michael got into a position as manager (well, co-manager now) of the Scranton, PA branch.
One theory is the Peter Princicple. Even though Michael got his job by stalking followinggoing to the same place as a woman who’s hair he was smelling on the bus, he quickly rose to the highest ranks of paper and office supply salespeople in the company. Before long there was no place higher for him to go, so they promoted him to management. With no experience or acumen. He surpassed a level where he was superior to instead fall into a position where he is thought to be incompetent.
It’s tough to be in management, especially when you used to do the same job that the people you manage do now. It’s even worse when you were pretty damn good at it. Because you know how succeed in the position, but you can’t just tell them. You are beaten down constantly by the stupid beaurocracy of corporations and you try to shield your employees from those realities. And managing employees can be somewhat akin to being a high school hall monitor. You’re always dealing with cliques, puppy love relationships (where Angela somehow dates half the office,) report cards and various other teenaged issues.
You have to look at the success of the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin despite the idiocy of some of the employees (Hello, what the hell does Creed do other than be “that creepy guy?!”) Additionally there has been very little turnover at the branch, the employees stay loyal. And they all seem to actually enjoy each other for the most part.
Frequently David Wallace and the upper quadrants of management review and analyze Michael and the branch, wondering how they “do it.” But no one can ever figure it out.
Perhaps the truth is a little harder to believe. And that truth might be that Michael Scott is, for the most part, actually a good manager. I’ve learned this especially this season as Jim offers insights into the world that is management since he was recently promoted himself.
Leaders have charisma and appeal
Michael may be the satirical stereotype of clueless management, but no matter how many times he says stupid stuff, how many politically incorrect sexual harrassment seminars he hosts or how many murder mystery dinners he hosts, you just can’t help but like the guy. We’ve all tuned in for five seasons now. If he was unbearable, no one would care. Did anyone watch more than four episodes of “Cavemen?”
Leaders have innate ability to analyze situations and utilize resources
You’ve gotta wonder how the heck it is that Michael is knocked down again and again but somehow manages to bounce back up like one of those punching bag clowns. Even when he is attempting to randomly place promotion flyers for a Golden Ticket in paper boxes and it backfires horrifically badly, the client turns around and makes Dunder Mifflin their exclusive office supplier. Sure, some of it appears to be dumb luck. I’m not much of a believer in luck, though. We tend to make our own luck, taking advantage of opportunities we recognize.
Leaders create an “Inner Circle” of colleagues
No matter how much Dwight tries to suck up to Michael and earn his respect and accolades, Michael just won’t serve them up to Dwight. He can tell what Dwight’s alterior motives are, and he won’t have any part of it. Thought the admiration may be nice, Michael knows that Dwight is just not someone he can trust and rely on. Thus why he has always chosen Jim to be his right hand man, even though Jim has spent the majority of the series painstakingly glancing at the camera and shaking his head at Michael’s actions and statements.
Leaders “pay it foward” and empower their employees
There is no greater testament to a great manager and leader than the advancement of their employees. You’ve got Ryan getting promoted to Vice President, Pam chasing her artistic dreams and eventually stepping out from the receptionist position, Jim taking over as co-manager of the branch, and many more examples. More recently after Michael spent an entire episode berating Erin, the new receptionist, for now being “as good as Pam” he realizes that she does, in fact, have a lot to offer and encourages her to pursue her accounting interests.
So yes, Michael Scott might be an idiot most of the time. But really, other than the idiot stuff that actually provides a bit of amusement, don’t you kind of wish you had a manager with traits similar to him?
What do you look for in a manager? What are the good, the bad and the ugly sides of a manager’s face?
Tagged as:
Management,
michael scott,
the office
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! As a hardcore Office addict (as I write this, my Andy Bernard bobblehead is staring at me), I agree with you 100%- Michael may be a complete idiot and always say the wrong thing, but he knows how to deal with people, and he actually cares about his employees. I also think that Michael's never afraid to try new things, like the Golden Ticket idea or filming his own commercial.
Sheema – That's a great point I meant to include. And probably the MOST valuable thing about Michael as a manager. And that is the fact that he cares about his employees. Not just kinda wants good things for them, but REALLY CARES. Sure, sometimes it's to a fault and he desperately wants to be their friend even though the feeling is not always reciprocal, but we can never fault Michael for not working daily to build relationships within The Office.
I think the episode this season where they played the murder mystery game was a great example. Sure, Jim took the “logical” route by getting everyone to keep to business as usual, but it turned out that Michael's ability to care for his workers and get their minds OFF of work was what worked out in the end. I think an “ideal” boss would sort of be a combination of Jim and Michael. Maybe Jim's brain and Michael's heart?
I think we're going to see a LOT this season of the two of them really learning from each other. You are right, the best managers (beyond good or great) are the ones who have figured out the delicate balance between brain and heart.
Actually, those tend to be the best people in general.
Great post. I am an AVID Office fan and think that Michael's skills as a manager are there, though often hidden behind his inappropriate jokes and lax style. But I think that as him and Jim are working together this season, you can see how he knows what he's doing, especially when he lets Jim learn from his (both Michael AND Jim) own mistakes. Sometimes being a good teacher is letting “students” learn on their own!
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, Christa! First, how can you NOT be an office fan?! Hilarious. I agree this season is great as we see that somehow, Michael DOES actually know what he is doing and it's not quite as easy as everyone else thinks. Thanks for dropping by!
Christa – Thanks so much for the insight! I agree, with Jim and him working together I think we will see a LOT more mistakes from a more inside look. I mean, it's easy to look at it from the outside and think “WTH was he thinking” but seeing it from the other side and understanding his thinking…you kind of have to nod your head and at LEAST agree that you can actually see where he was coming from.
I think the most effective managers and leaders treat you kinda of like parents. They know the right and wrong things to do, but the best ones let you figure it out on your own rather than “telling you” how to do it. And I definitely agree that I think management always looks much easier than it actually is!
While we would like to think leaders have charisma, nitpicking one of your headlines, that is not a necessity of all leaders. I've had some wonderful professors, for instead, who I've learned lots from — but they were anything but charismatic.
Charismatic was probably the wrong term. It's more about likability. While they may not have been charismatic there's probably things that you liked about them or respected if you were open enough to learn from then.
Nice post. Leaders and managers also aren't afraid to higher someone who they think might be smarter than them. Because in the end, it makes them look good.
Though Michael is sometimes too neurotic, he possesses many qualities that we can admire–something that I alluded to in one of my blog posts. Read it here http://bit.ly/8ShsBc.
Leaders are also very introspective and understand their strengths and weaknesses, so feedback on my blog is truly appreciated.
Nice post. Leaders and managers also aren't afraid to higher someone who they think might be smarter than them. Because in the end, it makes them look good.
Though Michael is sometimes too neurotic, he possesses many qualities that we can admire–something that I alluded to in one of my blog posts. Read it here http://bit.ly/8ShsBc.
Leaders are also very introspective and understand their strengths and weaknesses, so feedback on my blog is truly appreciated.