Managers tend to treat their staff according to assumptions they hold about what motivates people. These assumptions create self-fulfilling prophecies in the behavior of the staff. Managers reward what they expect, and consequently only get what they expect. Challenging your own assumptions is one of the first steps in becoming a better manager.

X-style managers

Prominent management theorist Douglas McGregor distinguished two management styles—X and Y— based on the assumptions held by managers about the motives of their staff. X-style managers believe that workers need to be coerced and directed. They tend to be strict and controlling, giving workers little latitude and punishing poor performance. They use few rewards and typically give only negative feedback. These managers see little point in workers having autonomy, because they think that the workforce neither expects nor desires cooperation.

Y-style managers

Y-style assumptions reflect a much more optimistic view of human nature. Y-style management contends that people will gladly direct themselves toward objectives if their efforts are appropriately rewarded. Managers who hold Y assumptions assume a great deal of confidence in their workers. They are less directive and empower workers, giving them more responsibilities and freedom to accomplish tasks as they deem appropriate.

Shaping the environment

Organizations that are designed based on X-style assumptions are very different to those designed by Y-style managers. For example, because they believe that their workers are motivated to help the organization reach its goals, Y-style managers will decentralize authority and give more control to workers than will X-style managers. A Y-style manager realizes that most people are not resistant to organizational needs by nature, but may have become so as a result of negative experiences, and strives to design structures that involve the employees in executing their work roles, such as participative management and joint goal setting. These approaches allow employees to exercise some self-direction and self-control in their work lives. In Y-style management, although
individuals and groups are still accountable for their activities, the role of the manager is not to exert control but to provide support and advice and to make sure that workers have the resources they need to perform their jobs effectively. By contrast, X-style managers consider their role to be to monitor workers to ensure that they contribute to the production process and do not threaten product quality.

Tip

ANALYZE YOURSELF Honestly review every decision you make and every task you delegate. In each case, ask yourself what you assumed the staff involved would think, and how you expected them to behave. Remember that positive expectations help produce positive outcomes.

X and Y assumptions

X-STYLE MANAGERS

• Employees inherently dislike work and will attempt to avoid it.
• Employees must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve goals.
• Employees will shirk responsibility and seek formal direction.
• Most workers place security above all other factors associated with work and will display little ambition.

Y-STYLE MANAGERS

• Employees can enjoy work and can view it as being as natural to them as rest or play.
• People will exercise selfdirection and self-control if they are committed to the objectives behind tasks.
• The average person can learn to accept and seek responsibility.
• Most workers place job satisfaction and career fulfillment high on their list of priorities.