Leading Through Language

17 THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP IS…DIRECT

Before the TV show The Office debuted on NBC in 2005, the film Office Space, released in 1999, offered viewers a chance to laugh and cry at the realities facing many cubicle-dwellers in the corporate world: unfulfilling jobs, ineffective consultants, arbitrary policies, and, of course, terrible bosses.

Peter Gibbons, played by Ron Livingston, is the film's protagonist – a disgruntled programmer at the fictitious company Initech, who is continually frustrated by his ineffective boss, Bill Lumbergh, played brilliantly by Gary Cole. Lumbergh's ineffectiveness expresses itself in many ways: he is officious, has little to no emotional intelligence, and seems to do nothing of value. Yet, the most cringe-inducing Lumbergh moments come when he uses indirect language to ask people to do things.

Early on in the film, Lumbergh walks over to Peter and says, “Hello Peter. What's happening? Um, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in tomorrow. So if you could be here around nine that would be great. Oh, oh, yea…I forgot. I'm gonna also need you to come in Sunday, too. We, uh, lost some people this week and we need to sorta catch up. Thanks.”

In an act of rebellion, Peter decides not to come in. Lumbergh leaves him a voicemail: “Yeah, hi, it's Bill Lumbergh again. I just wanted to make sure you knew that we, uh, did start at the, uh, usual time this morning. Yeah it isn't a half day or anything like that. So if you could get here as soon as possible, ...