Workscape Institute

No, that’s not a typo.  A cross between Archie Bunker and Ray Barone, Michael Scott, the boss from NBC’s The Office, can usually be counted on to say the most inappropriate thing at the most inopportune times, while still (somehow) ensuring that everything turns out fine in the end (i.e. he still has his job).

Follow up:

But while Michael’s flaws are most evident and help serve as the backdrop for most of the show’s laughs, there are actually some very important management lessons that can be learned from the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton:

1) Reward and recognize your employees

During season 1, we were introduced to The Dundees, Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s version of the Emmys.  While the Dundees may be more memorable for Michael’s rap-along with Naughty by Nature, they serve a valuable purpose in Michael’s mind; take the time to properly reward and recognize your employees, albeit in a fun, humorous way.  While awards such as “whitest sneakers” or “longest engagement” may not be typical, they helped to serve Michael’s overriding purpose of employee recognition.

2) Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate

During one recent episode, Michael left Jim in charge of the office while Michael inexplicably decided to “rough it” in the Pennsylvania woods for several hours.  While gone, Jim found that his otherwise practical plan to consolidate employee birthday parties into one monthly celebration was met with staunch objections.  It turns out that employees at Dunder Mifflin Scranton actually enjoyed the special day that Michael had organized for each of them.

3) Support your employees

When Stanley threatens to leave Scranton for Utica (for more money), Michael organizes a retaliation (with the help of Dwight and a highly reluctant Jim) against the Utica branch.  Although their weak attempt at revenge (disguising themselves as warehouse workers with silly string) only resulted in humiliation, it showed quite clearly the affection that Michael feels for all his employees (well, except for Toby).  To Michael, Stanley was family, and the potential of him leaving Scranton was extremely painful for him.

4) Prepare your successor

Toward the end of the third season, Michael was quite confident that he was about to be promoted to corporate, thus leaving a Regional Manager vacancy at the Scranton branch.  To help avoid a leadership gap, Michael organized an elaborate “Survivor-esque” beach games contest in which the winner would automatically assume the Regional Manager title.  While Michael’s ambitions proved a bit premature, it was clear that he had mixed feelings about potentially leaving Scranton.  At a minimum, he wanted to ensure that Scranton would be well taken care of in his absence.

As the fifth season of The Office kicks off, we can look forward to even more inappropriate comments from perhaps the world’s worst boss.  However, if we look a little closer, we may actually glean a few valuable nuggets of Management 101 from this highly unlikely source.