Understanding Theory - Behavior

For this post I have chose to watch a television show that displays leadership qualities and post about it. I have chosen to talk about one of my favorite shows The Office. As the show has gone on the characters have all developed and a few have even been promoted into leadership roles themselves. In a recent episode, Michael hires his best friend, Todd Packer, to be the new salesman in the office. Everyone except Michael sees this as a terrible decision and they all work to make him change his mind. The side plot also provides an example of leadership with the interaction between Andy and Pam. The characters that I will focus on for this are Pam and Holly.

HOLLY

Michael initially exploits his relationship with his girlfriend to get Packer hired, utilizing Phase 3 of  LMX relationship. Michael seeks her opinion in the Packer situation, and she doesn’t really want to give him a straight answer, because she knows her answer will hurt him. Finally she tells Michael that Packer is “Not funny at all…”, which is a big deal to Michael and his decision making process. She knows that Michael really values humor and knowing that his best friend is not funny will truly be a big deal to him. She has the interest of everyone in mind at this point, because she realizes Packer must go for the good of the office, but she also doesn’t want to hurt Michael. She also mentions the fact that he says something negative about his daughter, and because Michael doesn’t have children, but has always wanted him this also means a lot to him. In the end, it is Packer’s betrayal of Holly and Michael’s relationship with her that Packer is ultimately sent to Florida.

Pam

Pam buys Erin a new computer and Andy becomes extremely jealous and approaches Pam whining for a new one. Again, Phase 3 of the LMX relationship is shown here. At first, she tells him he absolutely may not have a new computer. Andy and Erin switch computers, which causes Pam to become angry with Andy. She ends up yelling at him and forcing him to switch the computers back. Andy confronts Pam in private and tells her that she embarrassed him. She says that she doesn’t want to look weak in front of the other employees so as a compromise, she tells him she can only buy him a new one if his old one “breaks.” She buys him a new one, but wont let any of the other employees know in order to maintain balance in the office. They are able to use their quality interactions to negotiate a compromise that works for everyone in the office. Andy is able to get his new computer, Pam is able to maintain order, and no one will know that Andy got preferential treatment. The computer could even serve as an incentive to increase his sales.

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