Organizatonal Behavior and Change and The Creation of the False X

Douglas McGregor identified two possible beliefs a manager might have about what motivates people - Theory X or Theory Y. A belief in Theory X suggests that people are motivated by iron handed autocratic leadership. But those who believe in Theory Y believe that motivation is intrinsic: people want to work, they want to do well.

Much of the literature since McGregor's important book, The Human Side of Enterprise in 1960, suggests that the practice of Theory Y has a greater potential to improve productivity.

Sadly, much organizational change gives lip service to Theory Y - get people involved, listen to them, give them power and authority - but, in fact, leaders' actions are really Theory X in Y clothing. This creates an organization full of False Xs. People respond to autocratic role in the workplace by resisting it in some form - doing just enough to keep leaders off their backs. A client once called it "malicious compliance." Or, people resist actively - strikes, sabotage, or they leave.

Leaders see this opposition or "laziness" and assume that their Theory Y practices didn't work and shift to a more overt Theory X approach. This creates a deadly spiral since the next change and the one after that will get harder and harder to manage well.

What if We Took Theory Y Seriously?

If we used Theory Y as our guide, then organizational changes would look different than they often do. (Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful approaches to change such as Whole Scale Change or Real Time Strategic Change, Future Search, Open Space Technology, Kaizen events, and so forth, but they account for a small fraction of the changes that occur in organizations.)

I identified four phases in the life of a major change and tried to show how they could be treated through a Theory Y lens.

Make a Case for Change. People need to see for themselves that a change is needed. They need to be treated like the adults they are and be given access to trends, opportunities, threats, and numbers that drive the business. In contrast, many changes just pile on reams of paper and endless PowerPoint presentations hoping that will help people see the need for change.

Get Started on the Right Foot. Many times organizations introduce change at this stage. They get resistance because they failed to "make a case for change." It's hard for people to feel involved if they don't understand why a change is needed. Leadership sees this confusion, anger, apathy, etc. as a sign that they need to force the change on people. That's called getting started on the wrong foot.

Keep the Change Alive. This is a tough point in the life of most big changes. It is easy for leaders and others to forget that this change is still urgent and should still be a top priority. This phase is all-but-ignored in even the most enlightened writing on change management, so I got interested in this phase. I believe a Theory Y approach would invite employees and middle managers to help contribute to the success throughout the process. And that includes encouraging them to use their own initiative to find ways to keep the change moving forward.

If you click on this link you will find some preliminary writing on ways to address this phase. I hope that you will consider adding to the literature on this critical point in the life of a major change.

Get Back on Track. The good news is that this phase is avoidable if the other three phases are handled well. But, when things start to derail, it is easy to go Theory X - threaten, come down hard, fire people -- and this just makes matters worse. But, let's say that an organization does face this problem, then approaches like GE's Workout can be helpful. WorkOut invites people to identify the problems and come up with solutions. The approach respects the people and the problem and actively seeks ways to involve them in turning things around.

Most organizations talk a good game. Their vision and values statements reek of Theory Y platitudes. But holding the mirror up to ourselves and seeing that our actions speak otherwise is the first - and most important - step in creating strategies that can engage employees.