Steve Carell, served as Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch's regional manager until he left during season 7. Michael put a lot of effort into his social status and perception in the eyes of his peers, which at times, had a tendency to backfire.
There was no doubt that Michael was a stellar salesperson, but his personality didn't always fit the needs of a manager. He prioritized employee morale more than productivity, causing several issues with corporate. Despite his lack of management skills, Michael somehow kept the Scranton branch afloat. As for his employees, Michael viewed them more as friends than his coworkers. His inappropriate behavior turned a lot of people off but he never meant ill-will.
Over the course of Dwight Schute to take the blame for his screw-ups. It's also no secret that Michael didn't always treat women with the respect they deserved. His naivete truly came into the spotlight during his worst moment: promising a group of schoolkids tuition for college and not fulfilling on the deal. The moment, of course, came into focus in the season 6 episode, "Scott's Tots."
Why The Scott's Tots Incident Was So Awful
Ten years before the episode, Michael made a deal with a third-grade class of underprivileged kids that he would pay for their college tuition if they graduated high school. The group, known as Scott's Tots, invited Michael back to celebrate their achievement. He reluctantly arrived with Erin Hannon as the students applauded and treated him as a hero. Michael then revealed that he didn't have the money, but he brought them all laptop batteries as a reward. The group was visibly upset while Michel left, feeling deflated.
When Michael made the promise, he believed his salary would gradually increase enough to sufficiently pay for the kids' college education. This was obviously a far reach even a decade before, but Micheal would go over the top to impress. He certainly had no intention of ruining the future of the students, but by the same token, he should have known better than to make a promise so difficult to keep. Those poor students put a lot of faith into Michael and he didn't even think about them until the decade had ed.
Again, this was a situation that proved Michael never set out to do something intentionally terrible, but his habit of trying to look good in the moment got the best of him. The episode with Scott's Tots is still so depressing that man fans of The Office still can't rewatch it on reruns or streaming. The sequence in the high school was so cringe-worthy but at least Michael had the courage to show up in person to reveal the truth.