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 If we can agree that a positive approach to managing people is the best route to achieving sustained high performance (as argued in my previous post), we need to be clear what that means in practice. A good starting point is to define a set of principles that will underpin this approach – principles that are consistent with an optimistic view about human potential (remember McGregor’s Theory Y). And the great thing about a good set of principles is that they remain valid and useful over time and in any circumstances. They will always be a helpful reference in challenging circumstances when decisions have to be made.

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In my last blog, I asked if the jury was still out on McGregor’s theory X and theory Y. In other words: Is there a consensus amongst practising managers about the most effective way to manage people? The picture is complicated by the fact that our underlying assumptions about human nature (in relation to work) affect what we think will be effective and how we interpret the evidence we see. But does any of this really matter or is it just an interesting philosophical diversion?

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Thirty years ago Douglas McGregor started one of the most significant debates in the history of management thinking in his seminal work “The Human Side of Enterprise”. It goes to the heart of the question that all managers should ask themselves:  “How do I get people to give of their best?

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