Assume The Best Part 1 #leadership 04
I knew a lead pastor once who accused one of the pastors on their staff of “only being in it for the money.”
The pastor on staff had requested a bump in pay because of some challenges at home, and the lead pastor was taking it poorly. “They just want to get paid. They don’t want to work harder for the money - they just want to do as little as possible and still get paid more,” the lead pastor complained. I happened to know the pastor who was asking for the raise, and I knew them to be a hard-working, sober-minded, humble servant of Christ. The lead pastor’s characterization of them was so far off the mark that it was silly.
Not to mention, no one goes into full-time ministry to “get paid.”
What was happening here?
Theory X & Y Leadership
In the 1960’s, Douglas McGregor developed two leadership theories to explain how supervisors view their employees and the effect this belief has on their leadership. He called these leadership perspectives “Theory X” and “Theory Y.”*
Theory X described a leader who was pessimistic about their employees. They believed their employees:
- Dislike their work.
- Avoid responsibility and need constant direction.
- Have to be controlled, forced and threatened to deliver work.
- Need to be supervised at every step.
- Have no incentive to work or ambition, and therefore need to be enticed by rewards to achieve goals.
As a result, McGregor claimed, Theory X leaders were authoritarian micromanagers who lead through fear and distrusted their employees.
In contrast, Theory Y leaders were more optimistic about their employees. They believed these things about their employees:
- Happy to work on their own initiative.
- More involved in decision making.
- Self-motivated to complete their tasks.
- Enjoy taking ownership of their work.
- Seek and accept responsibility, and need little direction.
- View work as fulfilling and challenging.
- Solve problems creatively and imaginatively.
As a result, McGregor said, Theory Y leaders were able to nurture a culture of collaboration and trust that would lead to happier workplaces and greater employee buy-in.
McGregor was addressing the prevailing command-and-control leadership model that characterized much of 20th century American business. In an earlier leadership post, I mentioned how command-and-control is not the biblical model of leadership for the New Testament era that we live in. I’m also aware that command-and-control leadership and Theory X leadership are not necessarily synonymous. However, in practice, we often see that a Theory X mindset leads to a command-and-control leadership style.
The lead pastor in this scenario was exhibiting an ungodly attitude concerning the pastor requesting the raise. The lead pastor’s assumptions about the pastor’s motives were dishonoring, disparaging, and unfounded in reality. This was a “closed-door”conversation, so mercifully the pastor asking for the raise didn’t hear the lead pastor’s dim assessment of them.
The lead pastor’s presuppositions have nothing to do with a discussion about the merit of giving the pastor a bump in pay. It has everything to do with the heart attitude of the lead pastor as they considered the request.
Douglas McGregor was most interested in casting a vision about leadership and the ramifications of our inherent beliefs we bring into our leadership concerning the people who work for us. In this post, I’ll discuss the pragmatic impacts of the presumptions leaders make about their employees. Personally, I’m more interested in how someone becomes a Theory X or Theory Y leader. I’ll take a look at that in part 2 of this post.
This lead pastor’s reaction to a simple request for a pay raise underlines the next leadership value I want to discuss.
Healthy leaders assume the best of their team.
Healthy leaders are Theory Y leaders. They look at their team and assume their employees want to work, they want to be here, and they want to do a good job. They give their employees the “benefit of the doubt” when something goes awry, and they only conclude the employee is operating from bad motives when compelling evidence leaves no other possible answer. Even then, they approach the possibility of severance with grace and an eye toward the health of the employee. This attitude generally nurtures trust with employees and encourages good work.
Let’s take a look at the practical impacts of how leaders view their employees.
1. The assumptions you make about your employees will affect how you treat them.
What we say and do flows out of who we are. Jesus said as much when he declared,
“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come…”
Mark 7:20-21
I always thought it was interesting how Jesus says that evil “thoughts” come from your “heart.” This is where we get the idea that “heart” is really the place where your emotions, your deepest desires, your true self (in whatever state it may be) metaphorically resides. The secret thoughts we have affect our daily interaction with the world in ways we’re often unaware of. Your “heart” is going to affect the things you say and do whether you like it or not.
If in your heart you believe your employees want to be here, want to work, want to create something meaningful, enjoy being challenged, and are capable - you will treat them with honor and respect. You won’t be able to hide it. Even your correction will flow from a heart that is FOR the employee. Even more compelling, when you make mistakes in your leadership, if your heart is FOR the employee, you will own your mistakes and make amends.
However, if in your heart you believe your employees don’t want to be here, are looking for ways to get out of work, just want to “get a paycheck”, must be closely monitored, and are inherently incapable of doing their jobs without your supervision, then you will treat them accordingly, whether you’re aware of it or not. You’ll watch the clock to see who comes in late. You’ll be critical of their work. You’ll micromanage every little detail. You’ll teach and pontificate whether it’s needed or not. And, if someone dares ask for a raise, you’ll respond with suspicion and frustration.
You might think you’re really good at hiding it, but, if you’re essentially a Theory X leader, I can assure you that your dim view of your employees is being communicated at all times.
That leads to the next practical impact:
2. The assumptions you make about your employees will affect how they treat you.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you walked away feeling a bit unsettled, even though you couldn’t clearly articulate what you were feeling or why you were feeling it? Human beings are incredibly gifted at sensing intent in their interactions with one another. We’re capable of picking up very subtle signals that tell us what’s really happening in the conversation. The prevailing communication experts hold that over 80% of communication between human beings is non-verbal, especially in a situation where the message being conveyed and the body language don’t match.
When you’re a Theory Y leader, your team will know it. You’ll hold eye contact when you tell say, “You’ve got this.” You’ll be near and available, but not right next to them. You’ll remain a calm presence in stressful situations. You’ll communicate with every gesture, every smile, every shift of your weight, the set of your shoulders, and your mere presence that you are FOR your employees.
Oh, and you’ll say good things as well.
When you make leadership mistakes, you’ll own them, and your team will know you mean it.
Because of this, your employees will learn to trust you. My first leadership post on this blog was “Love Well,” meaning that when you love your employees (in the sacrificial “for others” biblical way), they know it. There are no perfect leaders. But when you’ve encouraged and empowered your team, and shown them that you “love” them - that you are FOR them - then they’ll respond in kind. They’ll assume you’re a capable leader who can be trusted, and, when they disagree with your leadership (which they will) they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, or at least be willing to follow you. As 1 Peter says, “Love covers over a multitude of sins.”
All of the non-verbal communication I mentioned here can be faked. Theory X leaders can learn how to LOOK like a Theory Y leader. But, over time, your employees will spot the fake. The 93% non-verbal / 7% verbal communication rule (see above) applies specifically to this situation - where the heart of the communicator is out of sync with the message being communicated. The employees of a Theory X leader may believe them at first, but eventually they’ll slip, and the employees will see it, even if they can’t specifically name it.
If you’e a Theory X leader, they’ll ask for a raise, and you’ll miss a beat while you attempt to tame your knee-jerk response of contempt and compose what a Theory Y leader would say. That beat speaks volumes about the truth of your heart. They’ll ask for feedback and you’ll break eye contact and look away as you answer them. This “tell” will communicate that you don’t mean what you’re saying, whether you like it or not. The most gifted Theory X leader will eventually be found out. Your body will betray you, even if you say all of the right words. It’s impossible to sustain pretending to be someone else. Because, as Jesus said, “from the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Because of this, your employees will begin to lose trust in your leadership. They’ll assume you are NOT for them. The decisions you make will be second-guessed, and you’ll get grudging obedience at every turn. Your team will naturally take up defensive postures with you to maintain their safety, and relational distance will grow between you and your team.
This leads to a third practical impact of your leadership.
3. The assumptions you make about your employees will become your reality.
Culture is always being created, whether through intentional effort, passivity, or neglect.
If you fundamentally believe your employees are good people who want to work hard, care about the quality of their work, want to be here, and generally seek the good for the office, you will start to see these things become a reality. If you genuinely think highly of your employees, they’ll know it. Just like the Theory X leader has “tells” that bely their true beliefs, the team knows the genuine Theory Y leader cares about them. This environment challenges employees to treat each other accordingly and a healthy culture starts to bloom.
Here is 1 Peter’s wisdom again: Love covers over a multitude of sins.
This is more than just “nice guy/gal” leadership. It’s flowing from the leader’s heart and it’s the only way they know how to be. Their team knows they are FOR them, and that will go a long way.
This isn’t an automatic or guaranteed result - even Theory Y leaders make hires that don’t fit the culture. Theory Y leaders also need to cast vision, set clear expectations and goals, give healthy feedback, and ensure all the necessary structures are in place for work to happen (among other things). But being a Theory Y leader at heart lays a healthy foundation for culture to grow on.
The Theory X leader’s assumptions about their employees will also lay a cultural foundation. If you fundamentally believe that your employees are lazy, don’t want to be here, are unable to do their jobs, are looking for ways to rip you off, and can’t be trusted, you will ultimately be proven correct. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Your employees need to know that you are FOR them, and if they’re pretty sure that you’re not, they’ll respond accordingly. If you treat them like they’re lazy no matter how hard they work, they’ll see that their hard work isn’t going to be rewarded. Your best workers will leave, but some will stay and those workers will eventually do the bare minimum to keep their jobs.
If they don’t believe you trust their judgment, they’ll end up checking in with you on every little thing. They don’t want to have to do rework, so they’ll be hesitant to proactively take risks and show initiative with even the smallest tasks. This confirms your belief that people need to be told what to do. However, your belief that they must be micromanaged actually created the micromanagement culture.
If you treat your workers like they can be trusted, they will eventually respond in kind. Again, your best workers who have other options will simply leave. The ones who don’t have the freedom to leave will stay, feeling trapped under this oppressive leadership. Ultimately, they will either quit or they’ll take efforts to affect change by going over your head. Either way, the Theory X leader sits back and says, “See! I knew they would ultimately betray me! Workers can’t be trusted.” However, the reality is that the Theory X leader’s belief that workers can’t be trusted is what sparked the worker’s response. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The saddest part of all of this is that Theory X leaders often desire to be highly respected and influential leaders, but their fundamental distrust of their employees means that dream is very unlikely to be realized. They feel justified in blaming their remaining employees for robbing them of their glorious promotion, never realizing that they caused it all with their dim view of their workers.
Being a follower of Jesus in leadership calls for Theory Y leadership.
Let’s go back to the scenario that sparked this post: the lead pastor who believe the pastor asking for a raise has bad motives. My assessment is that this leader was acting like a Theory X leader in that moment. The behavior in this specific case isn’t sufficient to label the leader “Theory X” in every aspect of their leadership. It may be an area of hurt for the lead pastor where healing needs to happen.
We’re called by Christ to meet people where they are without judging them. Once we meet them, we then seek to understand their perspective. We then do our best to engage in fruitful discussion around the issue at hand.
In the moment, the lead pastor was emotionally invested at a high level. I gently advocated for the pastor who was asking for the raise. I shared my perspective of their long history of faithful service, their expressed loyalty to the church community and the lead pastor, and their consistent humility demonstrated through their love and sacrifice for others. I specifically stated that I believed the idea that they were being motivated by greed was inconsistent with their observed character and service.
The lead pastor was unmoved. They firmly reasserted their belief that the pastor asking for the raise was simply trying to milk the church for more money. They’re glare, their clenched fist, the clipped delivery of the sentences, the tight jaw - all of the body language - made it clear the lead pastor believed what they were saying and didn’t appreciate my perspective. I made one more quiet attempt to advocate for the pastor asking for the raise, but the lead pastor abruptly cut me off and ended the conversation.
It seemed the lead pastor really believed their story, and my attempts to dissuade them failed.
Over time, as I had numerous similar encounters with this lead pastor, I came to believe they were, in fact, a Theory X leader. This raised the question of “how?” How did this lead pastor become a Theory X leader? That is the topic of the second post in this mini-series.
The term “Theory X” is often synonymous with what is called a “toxic” leader today. A Theory X leader will rule like a tyrant, drive off all of the best talent (by never letting them have a say in the running of the organization), and ultimately drive the organization into the ground.
The final sadness for Theory X leaders is that they often don’t know they’re Theory X leaders. They could read this article and say, “I’m glad I’m not like that.” The general wisdom is that if you work for a toxic leader, you should probably seek employment elsewhere. If you’re in executive leadership under a toxic leader, you can pray to determine if you should attempt to use your agency to affect positive change for the organization. Often times, even this ends poorly, as Theory X leaders build Theory X cultures. You can’t expect healthy leadership from an organization that is languishing under toxic leadership.
But, the kernel of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that there is always hope. Jesus loves Theory X leaders. By the power of the Holy Spirit, they can change. If you’re working for a Theory X leader, the invitation is to discern what Christ would have you do. Bringing to light the toxic leadership MAY be the next step in healing an organization. It may also be a time where you may quietly tender your resignation and drift away. The key is to do your best to join God in what God's doing in the situation. That takes time and discernment.
Think about a time you’ve worked for a boss you really liked. What made you like working for them?
Think about a time when you worked for a boss you really didn’t like working for. What made you not like working for them?
What are your own experiences in leadership? How have you viewed the people who've worked for you?
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