Leadership Styles

There are many different leadership styles that manager’s implement. Each one is very different and promotes different types of work environments. Theory X and Theory Y are two contrasting theories on employee behavior, motivation, and management. These theories do not focus on the employees themselves, but rather the manager’s assumptions about the employees and his or her perceptions of what motivates their team.

Theory X states that employees are naturally unmotivated to work and genuinely do not care about what they are doing or accomplishing. According to Goldman (1983), employees with these characteristics must be coerced, controlled, and directed to get them to work towards goals. X type organizations tend to require managers and supervisors to be present at every step to ensure the quality or employees work. With that being said, there is very little power delegated to workers. In firms with this style of leadership, control remains very centralized and organizations are considered top heavy. A more authoritarian style of management, where the leader dictates, is used in Theory X and the work done by employees tends to be more repetitive and specialized. Adolf Hitler is a good example of a leader who implemented a Theory Y environment. Theory X provides the “boss” figure where Theory Y provides the image of a “leader”.

In contrast, Theory Y is built on a more participative style of management. These managers believe their subordinates to have a natural desire to work and are inclined to self-motivation and creativity. In a firm with a Theory Y orientation, employees at lower levels of the organization are given a voice and have the opportunity to add value to the company. Due to their decision-making abilities and chance to take on full responsibility of a work project or goal, employees in a Theory Y culture are happy to work while given the freedom to discover their intellectual potential. According to Sager (2008), this display of encouragement...