Hamza\nKahn is an award-winning marketer, successful entrepreneur, and keynote\nspeaker. We watched a TED talk of his\nwherein he talked about Theory X vs. Theory Y. \nTo be honest, we weren\u2019t familiar with either one of these\ntheories. But Theory X, he explained,\nholds that employees are lazy, can\u2019t be trusted, and dislike work. Therefore, they must be closely managed in\norder to keep them productive. Theory Y,\non the other hand, is the exact opposite of Theory X. Theory Y maintains that employees are\nambitious, self-motivated, exercise self-control, and actually enjoy both the\nphysical and mental aspects of their work. \nWhether you have Theory X employees or Theory Y employees, Kahn says,\ndepends entirely on the conditions (the culture) in which they are expected to\nwork. So what conditions does Kahn say\nproduce Theory Y employees? For that\nanswer, please continue reading below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\nmanage things. You lead people.\u201d <\/strong>~ Peter Drucker,\nconsultant, lecturer, author<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kahn\npoints out that people don\u2019t like to be managed. They feel like they\u2019re being manipulated and\nit\u2019s dehumanizing. Therefore, the\ncurrent \u201ccommand and control\u201d management model doesn\u2019t work. That model, Kahn says, is particularly\nunsuited for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\ncould probably short-hand this to include any organization that is trying to do\ncreative or innovative thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nbiggest hurdle we face when we\u2019re trying to do creative or innovative work is\novercoming tradition. The notion that\n\u201cwe\u2019ve always done it this way\u201d kills innovation. It\u2019s nonsense to think that we can come up\nwith new ways to do things if we\u2019re going to insist on doing things the way\nwe\u2019ve always done them. As they say,\n\u201cYou can\u2019t steal second base and still keep one foot on first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As\nKahn has pointed out, people don\u2019t like to be managed, but they will welcome leadership. So how do we substitute leadership for\nmanagement and create an environment where Theory Y can thrive? Kahn gives us a shopping list of stuff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nguiding light here is to focus on outcomes rather than outputs. Worry only about the results people are\ngetting. As long as they\u2019re producing\nhigh-quality work and delivering it on time, why should you care when, where,\nor how they\u2019re doing it. As needed, help\nthem with work flow and setting priorities, but then get out of their way and\nlet them work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Celebrated French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said, \u201cIf you want to build a ship, don\u2019t drum up people to collect wood and don\u2019t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s\nprobably way too idealistic if you\u2019re a committed Theory X guy. As a matter of fact, most of what Kahn preaches\nis probably way too idealistic if you\u2019re a committed Theory X guy, and that\u2019s\nOK. Kahn\u2019s vision of a perfect workplace\nisn\u2019t for everyone. But if you suspect\nyour destiny lies with Theory Y, answer a few simple questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nyou answered \u201cyes\u201d to each of those questions, then what are you waiting for? Go for it! \nIf you do, and if you believe what Kahn is preaching, you\u2019ll end up with\na workforce that\u2019s more creative, more innovative, more motivated, and more\nengaged in their work than you would have thought possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hamza Kahn is an award-winning marketer, successful entrepreneur, and keynote speaker. We watched a TED talk of his wherein he talked about Theory X vs. Theory Y. To be honest, we weren\u2019t familiar with either one of these theories. But Theory X, he explained, holds that employees are lazy, can\u2019t be trusted, and dislike work. <\/p>\n