5 Great Ways To Deal With Theory X Managers

Working for a Theory X manager can be really tricky. Here’s how you can deal with one

An American social psychologist, Douglas McGregor in his book ‘The Human Side of Enterprise’ in 1960 introduced the Theory X and Y. These theories are two contrasting models of workplace motivation that managers use to get their work done. On one hand there’s manager X, who has an authoritarian style of making his team work and on the other hand, there’s a manager Y, who believes that his team is self-motivated and work comes naturally to them and has a participative style of management. If your manager is an ardent follower of Theory X, you need to careful while dealing with him/her.

According to Jappreet Sethi, an HR expert and author of Humanresourcesblog.in, Theory X is based on the assumption that employees inherently dislike work and they only do it for money and from the fear of reappraisal due to non-completion of tasks allocated to them. Theory X promotes ‘authoritarian’ style of management and leads to hierarchical organisation with narrow responsibility areas, which are closely supervised.

Whereas, Theory Y is based on the assumption that work is as natural as play for employees and are self-directed if they are motivated. The theory further states that non-monetary facets drive motivation of employees like positive encouragement and personal growth. Theory Y assumes that all employees have potential and promotes ‘participative’ style of management.

Sethi opines that Theory X managers focus on tasks and are deadline focused. They believe that work need to be completed at all costs and there is no room for excuses. They use the carrot and stick approach to control the output. Theory X managers are not interested in investing in employee development and making them work on cross-functional development at organisations expense. This style is on contrast to Theory Y style that focuses more on the meaning of work, promotes employee development and instills sense of ownership with employees to complete the tasks.

According to Sethi, the following 5 ways can help you deal with Theory X managers:

• Theory X managers are task-centered; so it will be a good idea to stick to facts and figures and give a very clear deadline on when the assigned task will be completed.
• Orient your discussions around how you can deliver the results and don’t bring emotions in your discussions.
• In case you find a deadline unrealistic make sure you point it out in a non-confronting manner or ask for additional resources that will enable the tasks to be completed.
• The word trying to the best of your ability does not resonate well with these managers. Either you can do it or you cannot do it.
• Theory X managers don’t like being questioned on the process recommended by them; in case you disagree, subtly make a hint that for the current task the process can be streamlined which will enable you to enhance the output or reduce time to deliver.

Dr. Jason Fitzsimmons, director of MBA programmes, GlobalNxt University, believes that both Theory X and Theory Y are in agreement that a manager’s responsibility is to plan, organise and coordinate workplace activities in order to meet organisational goals and maximise efficiencies. As such, both styles of management may have their place in the workforce where the primary need is to motivate employees and maximise productivity.

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