Managing People: Theory X Managers Are Baby Killers

Douglas McGregor‘s Human Side of Enterprise

McGregor articulated the two distinct assumptions or strategies regarding employee motivation. He referred to the belief that people inherently dislike work as Theory X. Workers, according to the Theory X assumptions, must be coerced and controlled to achieve work objectives.  The lazy proletariat try to avoid responsibility and have relatively little ambition.

However, Theory Y is bit more consistent with the way we think nowadays, suggesting that employees see that work is as normal for adults as play is for kids. Theory Y managers believe that people will learn to seek and accept responsibility and will exercise self-direction towards achieving workplace goals and objectives. Looking at your workplace, which theory tends to predominate in philosophy and practice: Theory X or Theory Y?

Disenfranchised and unmotivated workers can cause serious problems. The end impact can go far beyond poor quality and reduced production to high employee turnover which costs organizations substantially.  This malaise translates to the entire company performing at or below mediocre.  Engaged and motivated employees exist when a company really understands and employs the values that form the core of human behavior.

How does a Theory Y Manager Act?

A Theory Y manager nurtures and develops a new employee into a productive, self-sustaining team members. One of the things that stands out in nature shows out is how, in the wild, newborns are nurtured by their parents as a way of ensuring the continuance of the species.

Many human managers are not so wise, particularly those managers who abide by Theory X thinking that workers have to be watched closely or they will screw around, employees are stupid, micro-managing is a necessity, and when things go wrong you must find someone to fire.

Many companies of all sizes provide new hires with the bare minimum information and training they need to succeed in their new jobs. That’s’ the Theory X way: toss them in the deep end of the pool to see who makes it out alive. It’s the basis of Donald Trump’s popular TV reality show, The Apprentice.

Theory Y managers, however, take a more natural approach to enabling new hires to become fruitful in the workplace. A Theory Y manager wants the new partnership to be long, advantageous for more fun and profits.

Here’s how a manager can turn a new hire’s first experiences into a lasting and prosperous relationship that will ensure the long-term financial and competitive sustainability of the business.  Regard these new hires as equals.  New hires have a perspective on the business that legacy employees do not.  A company can learn a lot and keep its perspective fresh on its business by engaging new hires in exposing the good, the bad, and the ugly about the business and its culture – as long as they keep an open mind when hearing these new perspectives.

The question of employee or human motivation is one that has intrigued leaders and workplace scientists for generations. What is motivation? It is the willingness to exert an effort toward a goal that fulfills a need. When we are motivated to act, that motivation comes from an internal need to attain a given outcome. A simple example is hunger.   As a result, we arrange our lives so that we can attain food.

Are you a Theory X manager, or a Theory Y manager?

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