Posted by Dmytro Dodenko
Have you ever heard managers say (or thought so yourself): “My employees lack initiative; they don’t care, and they won’t do anything unless forced”?
The paradox is that this thought is often not a statement of fact, but its cause.
In management, there is a concept known as the “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Your core beliefs about human nature do not just influence your management style – they literally create the reality in which you work.
Let’s analyze the classic management dilemma described by Douglas McGregor and see how it impacts your business efficiency today.
Two Lenses of a Leader: Theory X and Theory Y
There are two polar models of perceiving employees:
1. Theory X: “People are a resource that must be controlled”
According to this theory, the average employee is inherently lazy and avoids work and responsibility.
- Manager’s Style: Strict control, micromanagement, penalty systems, clear “A to Z” instructions.
- The Message: “I don’t trust you, so I must check your every step.”
2. Theory Y: “People are potential that must be unlocked”
This theory asserts that work is as natural to humans as play or rest. People seek responsibility and are capable of self-direction and creativity if given the right conditions.
- Manager’s Style: Delegation of authority, involvement in decision-making, focus on results rather than the process.
- The Message: “I believe in your competence and give you the freedom to act.”
The Self-Fulfilling Trap
The most dangerous aspect of these theories is that they do not merely describe the world – they shape it.
If you manage a team through the lens of Theory X (distrust, pressure, excessive control), people adapt quickly. They stop showing initiative (because it is punished or ignored), avoid responsibility, and do exactly as much as the instructions require. You get exactly the passive executors you feared getting. Your prophecy has come true.
Conversely, if you believe in the potential of Theory Y, you challenge your employees. You give them complex tasks and the freedom to solve them. Most people, feeling trusted, try to justify it. They accept responsibility and often exceed expectations.
This shifts the focus of responsibility: team effectiveness depends not only on the employees’ skills but on the manager’s worldview. Your biases become either a glass ceiling for the team or a springboard for its growth.
Manager’s Checklist: What Reality Are You Creating?
We often act on autopilot, copying the management style we have seen before. That is why it is important to pause occasionally and audit your own beliefs.
Ask yourself honestly:
- About trust: Do my words and actions broadcast belief in the team, or hidden doubt?
- About delegation: When I assign a task, do I explain “what to do” (the goal) or “exactly how to do it” (the process)? The latter is often a sign of Theory X.
- About the environment: Have I inadvertently created conditions where initiative is punished and blind obedience is rewarded?
- About reaction to mistakes: Is a subordinate’s mistake a reason to tighten the screws (Theory X) or an opportunity for learning (Theory Y)?
It is worth remembering that your management style does not exist in a vacuum. It is part (and often the foundation) of a broader system – your company’s culture. I analyzed in detail how leadership style shapes “power structures” in an organization and affects financial indicators in the article “Corporate Culture as a Strategically Valuable Asset“.
Conclusion
Your expectations literally create the reality of your team. If you want to see leaders around you, not just executors, start treating them like leaders even before they become ones.
Try changing the lens through which you look at your people. The result might surprise you.
