The salacious and galling character, Michael Scott, returns in the season premiere of NBC’s comedy, The Office. Played by movie actor Steve Carell, the scandalous boss reminds us of how bad the workplace can be under the thumb of a narcissistic know-it-all who really lacks the smarts to sit in the corner office in the first place.
While the office antics in the weekly comedy appear to be off the charts and completely unacceptable, we all know how accurate some of the stunts are. Leadership in every sector of business is constantly under scrutiny. In my experience, little is done to rid the "office" of an ineffective leader.
What makes a good leader and how do they get to a conscious place to lead? Check out my recent blog post, Delving Into The Mind of a Leader, in response to John Mckenna’s (The Leadership Epidemic) posit to the blog world- Does Most Leadership Suck? The Challenge. I discussed some of the "inner talk" and challenges that leaders face when taking the helm.
Now – back to The Office. Writer Del Jones has a great article in USA Today offering a bit of a debate on the worth of watching such a show, what some real leadership experts think about it, and whether the character will have to evolve in a 24/7 workplace as the series continues.
Comedy in this case, is actually a great tool to shed light on some important worklife issues, despite its lack of political correctness. Bullying bosses, work life balance, working in a 24/7 world, and the simple lesson of being kind to others as we all try to further our careers – are all addressed.
In a world that is increasingly becoming more and more competitive and stressful – a little laughter isn’t such a bad thing.
