The Rhetoric: Do you really want to work for Michael Scott? [Column]
Think back to your most favorite television sitcoms of the last 20 years, back before we became entrenched in our careers. Now, open your eyes. Didn’t we want to wake up and go to work in Pawnee County for Leslie Knope? Occupy an office with the associates at Dunder Mifflin under Michael Scott? Sit in a writer’s room with Liz Lemon pitching sketches all day?
We long to have a job run with less red tape in a lax environment. Life isn’t a sitcom, even if we hear a laugh track in our heads or pan away to invisible cameras. This is reality, no fairy godmothers or aliens among us. We are in the employ of companies with broad corporate hierarchies. The lower your position on the totem pole, the more your work is governed by a handbook.
Throughout my career in Corporate America I’ve had some great bosses. Sure, we were all somewhat younger. We completed our work but still had time for conversation and clowning. They knew how to balance being our boss to us and simply being a co-worker. My first gig in a cubicle-dotted office was oddly similar of a department run by Michael Scott.
Wait. Come to think of it, would we really want to have a boss like Steve Carrell’s iconic character?
That type of manager works best on television and not in real life. Believe it or not, there are differences between being a leader and being a manager. Someone can be a leader or a manager. In fact, someone can even be both if they play their cards right. To work in a productive work environment, you want to be surrounded by leaders – not by managers.
Leaders know when to put boots to the ground, dig into the trenches, command direction to their team and be able to follow up without seeming overbearing. You know, like Captain Picard or Captain America, but flesh and blood people, not fictional figures. Leaders were once in the same shoes as their team. People want to be led and recognized and celebrated.
Managers, well, they’re a different sort. A fair amount of you have discussed with me about managers. They can be a whole different breed – unperceptive to change, hate to be wrong when they believe their opinion is right, reactive to matters instead of proactive, giving directions instead of asking questions. Worst of all – micro-managing. Gasp! I’m out of breath.
At one point in time, a manager strived to be a leader. What makes one denature anyway? Do we blame comfortability or perhaps lack of ambition? Age could certainly be a factor too. Some managers in their 50s now take charge of workers in their 20s. With such a gap in age, do some managers desire to fit in with the youth? No one wants to be left behind with the latest lingo and trends. The next step shouldn’t be lessening your maturity to fit in with the crowd.
When there’s work to be done, a manager shouldn’t be off playing ping pong while talking about the past weekend’s shenanigans. A manager shouldn’t throw their hands in the air and say “yes” to simply avoid conflict. Avoiding confrontation, no matter the topic, and not holding associates accountable creates an office of chaos even Mad Max wouldn’t wallow through. Nor is this Sparta either.
Personally? It’s okay to be copacetic with your boss. Really. You just need to know when to blur the line between productivity and nonsense. Sometimes, a little nonsense can be the difference in motivating you to get your work done.
