It’s hard to walk around any office and not see at least a few cubes adorned with a few cartoons and clippings from the ubiquitous “Dilbert” publications. Yes, Scott Adams (Dilbert’s creator) is a genius. Yes, we all can identify with several of the characters depicted. The topics and dialog are scarily close to what we have all experienced in the past. I get it. I think they are great too. Dilbert pokes fun at companies and their management with an accuracy that is both hard to believe and hilarious.
 

I don’t think you should be posting them on the outside wall of your cube or office.

At home do you have a wall where you post cartoons and comics that continuously poke fun at your domestic management? I am married and my wife has a very good sense of humor. She would have to have one if she has been able to put up with me for as long as she has. I recognize this. Even knowing this, I do not go and take every domestic based cartoon that I find humorous, and that might poke fun at her or her position in the household and post it outside the front door to our house. I don’t post them on the inside walls, or even on the refrigerator. I know better than to continuously press my luck in that way.

My point here is that while there are many good, funny, humorous, or situational correct business cartoons out there, are you sure that you are sending the message that you want to send by displaying them where you specifically conduct business? By using them to make your tacit comments about your company or management, you are also making a comment about yourself that may not be perceived in the most professional of terms.

Having been in uncounted offices and cubes throughout my career I’ll try to describe and comment on a few of the various office decors that have stood out in my mind:

• The “Sterile” Office. This is the office or cube of someone that has absolutely no indication that anyone has ever lived in it. It is spotless. There are no books or documents visible. If it weren’t for the person sitting at the desk you would think it was an abandoned cube. When I walk into offices like this I have a tendency to walk up to the person in the office and poke them with my finger just to assure myself that they are in fact real. It seems that people who keep these kinds of offices do not expect to be in them for long.

• The “Packed” Office. These are offices that are literally packed with books, boxes, documentation, etc. to the point that there is little room for anything or anyone else in them. These are the offices of people who never throw anything away, because someday they might need it. They never expect to move because it is acknowledged that it would be too much trouble. In the same way that there office mobility is limited, so is their upward mobility. It seems it is hard to promote someone who comes literally with so much baggage.

• The “Decorated” Office. These are offices that have an incredible number of personal touches in them. Snow globes, and knick-knacks, and pewter representations of various fantasy elements, and plants, and pictures, and sports memorabilia, and awards (both sports and business awards), plaques and on and on. This is the décor that is opposite of the Sterile office, but with the results of the Packed office where people seem to expect and usually do never move from that office.

• The “Jungle”. I like plants. I think most people do. If you have more than two or three at most, then there may be an issue. When people have to move them out of the way to either enter the office or to talk with you, there are definitely too many. It may be a jungle out there, but it shouldn’t be in here.

The point is that like it or not, believe it or not, where you work does reflect on you and the type of work that people would expect from you. I have been in several senior leaders offices. There were no Dilbert cartoons displayed. There was usually a plant or two, but it was not a jungle, and they were well kept. There was a picture or two but they were usually either of an artistic nature or of family. There were usually a few management books on the shelves and a few documents on the desk. It was lived in, uncluttered and comfortable, but also orderly and clean. It displayed professionalism, balance and confidence, all traits that are desirable in a leader.

Having a professional looking office will not guarantee you leadership opportunities or business success. However, having one that is overly cluttered or decorated, or displays social or political cartoons or commentary will definitely not help you. I understand and agree with everyone’s right to assert their individuality and to have it reflected in the décor of their office. Just remember that businesses are looking for people with character, not people who are characters.

What do you think your office says about you?