For this blog post, I thought it might be interesting to discuss a fictional leader who is objectively “bad” at his job and make suggestions to help the leader improve. The individual I selected is the beloved Michael Scott from the television show The Office. For the majority of the show, he served as the Regional Manager of the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. While he did exhibit some positive leadership qualities, he did often display selfish motives and was much more concerned with being a supportive friend than a directive leader. His interactions subordinates were inappropriate within a work environment, because he was more concerned with being liked than leading a team. In the context of the awkward, off-beat comedy that frequently milks its laughs from the absurd characters on the show, the Michael Scott character has been a huge success. However, from an objective analysis of leadership, Scott is a historically awful leader (The Office, 2005).
Michael Scott was characterized by his immature, extroverted, enthusiastic, self-centered, impetuous, and desperately longing for approval from the people he worked with. When compared to the five personality traits connected to successful leadership (Judge, 2002), he exhibits neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience. Because of Michael’s distrust and blatant mistreatment of some of his colleagues such as Toby from HR, he did not exhibit agreeableness. Specifically, in one episode he tried to buy marijuana and frame Toby for possession to get him fired. His inability to stand up to his superiors in the best interest of his staff, anticipate his subordinates needs or attitudes, and connect with anyone outside of Dwight Schrute also showed his lack of conscientiousness.
Similarly, Michael Scott overtly avoided any situation where he had to make a difficult decision. He also played favorites and bestowed power to Dwight Schrute as an assistant who dealt with the interpersonal issues in the office with Michael’s interests in mind. Scott was obsessed with creating a “fun” environment by having festive events which the staff begrudgingly and miserably sat through. Michael was lacking in any ability to initiate structure of consideration, two behaviors mentioned as being critical leadership factors (Northouse, 2012). Due to the fact that Michael was so focused on his own likeability, his attempts to foster a supportive and enjoyable work environment actually lowered performance in his branch.
In order to become a more effective leader, I would suggest that Michael Scott shift his leadership approach to a Transformational Leadership approach. This is an approach characterized by a leader who hopes to achieve a vision of how an organization should be – in this instance: a more productive and well organized branch that respects and likes their manager. Scott could adopt the four basic behaviors of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Muchinsky, 2012). Specifically:
Idealized Influence – Rather than being overtly aggressive in winning the affection of his subordinates, Michael Scott should rather demonstrate himself to be the type of efficient and productive salesman that his surbordinates can look up to. With his extensive experience in sales, he can lead his staff by example (Northouse, 2013).
Inspirational Motivation – As you discussed, Michael Scott had a difficult time making decisions that he felt would not win the affection of his workers. He was more concerned with being their friend. However, if he gave them tasks that challenged them professionally, and made goals for them to reach, the branch would serve to be more effective (Northouse, 2013).
Intellectual Stimulation – Similarly, instead of throwing festive parties in the conference room, Michael Scott could more effectively use that area to have discussions about how to improve work conditions, solve problems, and improve productivity (Northouse, 2013).
Individualized Consideration – This may actually be one area that Michael Scott is very adept at. He wanted to befriend each employee and devoted way too much to providing support, and encouragement to his staff (Northouse, 2013). If anything, this is an area that he may have to cut down on rather than pay more attention to.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (Sixth ed.).Thousand Oaks:
Daniels, G., et al (Producer). (2005). The Office [Television series]. New York: NBC
Muchinsky, P. M. (2012). Psychology Applied to Work. Summerfield: Hypergraphic Press
Judge, T.A., Bono, J.E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M.W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review.Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 765–780.