X or Y?

There are actually two opposing theories in the motivation of people: theory X and theory Y. In this post I propose to briefly discuss them and take part in the survey .

Theory X

According to theory X, people only work to get paid. I think everyone faced with such people: he came from the morning sat until dinner, then he suffered until the evening and home. They do not work, and work out. For them, work is measured by hours, not by results achieved.

What should a manager do?

It would be possible to give advice, not to hire such people, but, firstly, there are really a lot of them and there are very talented people among them, and, secondly, such behavior and low motivation is not innate and not curable. Yes, it will not be easy to ignite and inspire such people, but for them it will be necessary to carry out careful planning and control of results, yes, such people are certainly a challenge and a check for the manager. Often, as a result, the manager develops an authoritarian leadership style — subordinates respond to him in the same way, and as a result a vicious circle is obtained. With this approach, there will be no “bottom” proposals for innovation, even if they were originally. In this case, the whip method should not always work (more precisely, almost never), since this will only strengthen the rejection by the team leader. A team opposed to a leader who does not take initiatives is unlikely to be able to make a profit for his company, thus the goal will not be achieved.

Theory Y

Theory Y says that, in principle, people are highly motivated to achieve results and the work itself brings them pleasure. Again, we are all familiar with the type of people with great self-motivation. They and work around them are always in full swing (I say hello to my team), they manage to do more than one thing in a day and their labor productivity is well above average.

What should a manager do?

Relax and enjoy life ... not at all. It is necessary to closely monitor the motivation of your team, clearly understand what the team expects, support every success and carefully follow the initiatives so that they do not disappear, but realize. Manage better for deviations, not much naked. When exercising control in this style, it is necessary to set clear goals and ensure that the team understands and shares them.
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X + Y

Usually the manager works at the junction of both theories, using one or another approach depending on the situation. In general, we must try to work on the principle of the theory of Y, igniting people. In extreme cases, resort to the methods of theory X, clearly explaining what the problem is.

Poll results

Honestly, the results of the survey just hit me - more than 80% of Habr's visitors adhere to theory X.

Picture to memorize theories X and Y