Theory X or Theory Y Manager?

“The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he can.” 

So wrote MIT Professor Douglas McGregor in the late 1950’s in describing an attitude of many managers, common then as it is now. 

McGregor proposed that managers’ attitude to their employees fall somewhere on a continuum of “Theory X” managers on one end and “Theory Y” managers on the other. 

The Theory X Manager believes that his employees:    

• Have a built-in dislike of work and will avoid it if they can,
• Have to be coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment,
• Want to directed,
• Want to avoid responsibility, and
• Have very little ambition.

On the other hand, the Theory Y manager believes that her employees:   

• See effort in the workplace as natural as it is at rest or play,
• Welcome opportunities to be self-directed,
• Enjoy the satisfaction of achievement,
• Don't want to avoid responsibility, but rather seek it, and
• want the opportunity to be very creative and imaginative at work.

 The implications for management style are clear. 

The Theory X manager will tend to be distrusting and micro-managing.  He will tend to be poor at delegating and somewhat distance in his relationships. He will tend to see his role as policemen and judge. 

The Theory Y manager will tend to be more relational, more engaged with her team and will try to create a more collaborative workplace.  She tends to see herself as one who resources and supports the team and takes responsibility for their emotional safety. 

(By the way, all these things are true of organisations, too.  Just as there are Theory X and Theory Y managers, so there are organisations that tend to either one end or the other of the continuum.  Scary, huh?)

So, armed with this information, here are two important questions for you to think about. 

1. Which style of management is likely to be the most effective? 
2. Which style of manager are you?   

 To help you answer the second question, here’s a quick self-test:  

Which of these statements more closely represents the way you think? 

Statement 1:

Theory X:       I have to keep on their backs otherwise they would slack off.

Theory Y:       I am confident of my team and their integrity to put in their best effort.

Statement 2:

Theory X:       I would tell someone off or even fire them sometimes as an example to keep everyone else on their toes.

Theory Y:       I only punish people respectfully, in private and after due process.

Statement 3:

Theory X:       As boss, I am the only one who should make decisions.

Theory Y:       I appropriately involve members of the team in decision making, according to their levels of capacity and responsibility.

Statement 4:

Theory X:       I keep my distance because it's important for the boss to be remote to maintain respect.

Theory Y:       I am relational with my team, understanding that the quality of my relationship with them will reflect in the standard of their work.

Statement 5:

Theory X:       When things go wrong my first thought is to blame members of the workforce.

Theory Y:       When things go wrong my first thought is to consider if and where I may have gone wrong.

Statement 6:

Theory X:       At the discussion table, my opinion is the one that counts.

Theory Y:       I sometimes remain quiet in meetings so that team members can express their ideas and creativity.