Leaders are designed and trained to be the decision makers, the head, and the role model for subordinates to follow. With leaders, there are multiple styles to also go off of and encounter with their direction. Some leaders look at at their employees more so as the workers that are helping to accomplish a task to get a job done. This type of leader ship behavior would be more so like directive behaviors. The leader is spelling out what to do, how to do it, and when it needs to be finished. (Lesson 5 Commentary- PSU world campus) Another form of behavior that we will be focusing on with be relationship behaviors or otherwise known as supportive behaviors. These types of behavior are more engaging when it comes to the employee, like listening, supporting, giving motivation to complete the given task. (Lesson 5 Commentary- PSU world campus) For todays example of leadership styles, I would like to highlight NBC’s award winning actor in the hit television series ‘The Office’s very own Michael Scott.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS6rLnFLEuo
For those that are unfamiliar with the television show, Michael is a manager of a paper company located in Scranton Pennsylvania, Dunder Mifflin. Michael is to over see his Scranton branch in their entire department. Sales, the warehouse, human resources, everything. Selling paper would be one thing, but doing it with a dry, sarcastic, loud and obnoxious leader is another. Within the two leadership styles that was brought up earlier Michael has sense of direction. His direction however is inserting himself into every conversation that is to be had at work except for the ones that have to do with paper!
To Michaels defense, he cares. The only problem is he cares too much when it comes to Dunder Mifflin’s employees personal lives! Michael shows strong behaviors of relationship. This type of style is reflecting personal interest in employees.(Lesson 5 Commentary- PSU world campus) This would be a great approach of the direction was focused toward work, whereas the employees are trying to focus on work when Michael is more interested in what they are doing this weekend or forwarded that funny email from this morning. Having a supportive behavior isn’t a bad trait to have, but it needs to be applied in the right type of conversation.
One of the other top sales representatives at Dunder Mifflin, Jim Halpert, was asked in one season to help ‘co manage’ the branch with Michael. One was to focus on day-to-day work and the other was to focus on the big picture! This was an interesting few episodes because of the management style of Jim and Michael working together. Jim is brought in to help give direction to the employees. Jim shows a much more directive behavior with focusing on a task and making sure everyone is onboard to do their part in succeeding. He still cares about the employees personally, but is much more focused on who is doing what, and making sure it is done correctly. (Lesson 5 Commentary- PSU world campus) Yet again, Michael is more interested in the staff thinking Jim is more import and holds more authority then he does so the rest of the few episodes Michael is trying to prove that he is still the senior boss.
As the series came to an end, Michael learned to somehow put his personal feelings aside, barely, and help complete the assigned jobs that needed done. Jim went back to sales full time, still giving his input on day-to-day and big picture during meetings. This series is meant for comic relief but does a great job demonstrating these styles of behavior form a directional approach and also a relationship approach.
–Lesson 5 Commentary- PSU world campus
I have only watched “The Office” video clip examples in my previous classes. I would love to know what you felt as far as trait or behavior for leadership skills for Michael. I feel that Michael tries his best to be liked by his co-workers. I feel that he tries to be a leader, but is definitely going about it the wrong way. Whenever there was another manager that had some authority, Michael had to prove that he was the “top dog” because he felt that he would lose respect from his co-workers and that his co-workers would find that someone else did the job better than Michael did. Michael learned how to be a leader and was not born to be a leader.
Jim is another good example of leadership on the show. I wish that there was a video example so that we could compare the two leadership skills between them.