SECRET ONE

Love Your Employees

Theories can be very general or more grounded. For our purposes—helping leaders thrive in complex times—theories need to be close to the action. Secret One takes us all the way back to the general theory of Douglas McGregor a half century ago. McGregor (1960) contrasted two theories of human motivation concerning behavior in the workplace, which he called Theory X and Theory Y.

Theory X Assumptions

  • The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he or she can.
  • Because of their dislike for work, most people must be controlled and threatened before they will work hard enough.
  • The average ...

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