The Theory X and Theory Y was established by the social psychologist Douglas McGregor in the 1960s. It’s two contrasting theories are based on the assumption that the style of a manager is affected by their beliefs of what motivates their team members.

Theory X is described by McGregor as the authoritarian style. If you believe your team members have little or no motivation and dislike their work (e.g. avoiding tasks) you’ll likely use an authoritarian style of management that usually involves micro-managing and more involvement as well as extrinsic benefits or sanctions.

Manager who believe their team is (intrinsic) motivated because they take pride in their work and see it as a challenge then you are more likely to use a participative style of managing (Theory Y) where team members thrive and take responsibilities.

The (new work) critic on this theory is that employees are not seen as responsible humans but rather as figures that can be moulded. From a systemic coaching point of view the belief system a person (in this case manager) has on other people of the same system influences the person’s thinking, feeling and acting but it not necessarily has something to do with the other persons of the system. Furthermore humans are more complex than that and the belief system is based on personal experiences, it’s always individual. That is why a coaching process is always individual.