December 21, 2023 • 22 mins
Imagine boldly navigating the complex world of management with a broad range of management theories at your disposal. We promise you a mind-expanding experience as we introduce The Management Theory Toolbox podcast and welcome our special guest, Ryan McCreedy, a seasoned practitioner in organizational effectiveness and doctoral candidate at William James College. This introductory episode is a deep dive into the intricacies of management theories and their real-world applications. With Ryan's expert guidance, we challenge persistent management concepts and shed light on the nature of management theory. Prepare for a thought-provoking exploration of neuroscience's relationship with organizational psychology, and how social systems influence the dynamics of business.
This episode is more than just a discussion; it's your ticket to subscribe to 'The Management Theory Toolbox' to better understand the source code of business. Join us and add a new dimension to your managerial acumen.
Ryan T. W. McCreedy [Guest], is a Leadership and Organizational Psychology scholar-practitioner based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to creating inclusive, equitable workforces and economic systems. He works as a Principal Organizational Effectiveness Consultant at Slalom Consulting in Boston, focusing on talent and organizational development for Fortune 100 clients, and leads Slalom's global Leadership and Team Development capabilities. With a background in engineering and behavioral sciences, Ryan has contributed to transformative changes in various industries. He also engages in organizational behavior research and helps teach graduate courses at Harvard. Ryan holds several degrees, including a B.S. from George Mason University, an A.L.M from Harvard Extension School, and is pursuing a doctoral degree at William James College focusing in applications of neuroscience in workplaces. Beyond his professional life, he enjoys brewing beer, cooking, music, philosophical discussions, and traveling with his wife Hannah.
Travis C. Mallett [Host], received the Masters of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Management from Harvard University Extension School, where he has also earned Professional Graduate Certificates in both Organizational Behavior and Strategic Management. Travis previously received undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering, General Mathematics, and Music from Washington State University. He also served as an Engineering Manager at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, where he led a team responsible for developing and maintaining SEL's highest-selling product line. An innovative force in engineering, Travis holds numerous patents and has authored papers and books across diverse subjects. His passion for continuous learning and organizational excellence propels him to explore and illuminate the intricacies of management theories. Through his podcast, "The Management Theory Toolbox", he offers valuable insights on effective leadership, business innovation, and strategic methodologies.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ryan McCreedy (00:01):
And I think that's the beauty of this space.
It's different from a lot ofother types of sciences is that
we're willing to go into realhuman systems and try something
out and see if it enhances theprobability of something being
beneficial or something changing.
Travis Mallett (00:14):
Welcome to the Management Theory Toolbox.
I'm your host, travis Mallett,and I'm thrilled to have you
join me on this journey ofcontinuous learning and growth
as we navigate the dynamic worldof management.
Now, this isn't your typicalmanagement podcast.
Yes, there are plenty ofresources out there that will
give you the ABCs of how to runa meeting, hire someone or even
(00:38):
how to fake a sick day withoutgetting caught, but here we like
to talk about thebehind-the-scenes topics, those
concepts and ideas whichtranscend specific management
practices, the ideas which givebirth to good management and
business practices, rather thansimply restate them.
We aren't going to give youspecific tips and tricks for
(01:01):
becoming an effective manager.
Here at the Management TheoryToolbox, we're interested into
why, behind it, all thediscoveries of behavioral
science, psychology, businessand economics that will open our
eyes to what's happening behindthe scenes.
If you're a manager, teamleader, aspiring entrepreneur,
(01:21):
business student or simplysomeone toying around with the
idea of starting a business, andyou're interested in a
scientifically rooted discussionof management and business, one
which systematically discussesthe ideas behind the specific
practices you've probablyalready heard a lot about, then
this podcast is for you.
One thing you'll be able tocount on is that every statement
(01:43):
is supported by research andyou'll be able to download the
show notes to find links andreferences to the source
material for everything taught.
Thank you, speaking of takingthings to the next level, ever
wondered what organizations haveto do with the universe and
everything else out there?
Strap in, because we're alsolaunched into some philosophical
tangents.
Who knows, we might even answersome questions you didn't know
(02:06):
you had, like how studyingorganizations might be connected
with the mysteries of lifeitself.
But hey, no pressure.
This isn't about having anexistential crisis.
It's about uncovering meaningand wonder amidst the chaos of
spreadsheets, employee reviewsand quarterly reports.
So what do I mean when I talkabout a management toolbox?
(02:30):
Although we're going to bestudying the behind the scenes
of management and business andconnecting those to big picture
ideas, we can't hope to developa so-called unified theory of
management.
Management is too complex.
There are too many variables.
The human brain is consideredby many complexity theorists to
(02:50):
be the most complex object inthe universe when measured by
information density.
Since businesses are comprisedof people, sell to people and
exist within a social context,we're talking about one of the
most complex enterprises inexistence.
As anyone who's had a directreport knows, it's impossible to
(03:11):
completely figure someone out,let alone a whole team, an
organization or an industry.
So what is the managementtheory toolbox?
Rather than search for acomplete theory to explain
everything about management, wecan think of ourselves as gazing
at the stars.
An infinite number of datapoints and interconnected
(03:32):
concepts are in view, so let'sstart picking out clusters of
them, defining constellations ofideas and studying them,
putting each in our pocket a newnugget of information or
insight, a management tool thatwe can pull out later to
reexamine or refresh when welearn something new, or a tool
that we can draw upon when thetime and situation is right.
(03:53):
It's important to understandthat mastery of management is a
continuous journey, not adestination.
There is no one size fits allsolution or secret formula that
guarantees success, as we willdiscover in later episodes.
The overall conclusion of modernmanagement and leadership
(04:14):
theory is that there is noso-called best style of
management or leadership.
A lot of it is contextual, andthe best managers draw on a
variety of leadership stylesdepending on the demands of the
situation.
So our focus will be onembracing the evolving nature of
management and arming ourselveswith an ever-expanding toolkit.
(04:36):
One of my management professorsexplained it this way, the more
tools we have under our belts,the better equipped we are to
tackle the challenges that comeour way.
Just like a skilled craftsmanrelies on a diverse set of tools
to handle different tasks, asmanagers we need a broad range
(04:57):
of theories, insights andstrategies to thrive in our
roles.
The goal of this podcast is toprovide you with a rich
collection of tools that you candraw upon when faced with
complex managerial situations.
We'll dive into variousmanagement theories, explore
real-world case studies and,while we'll share some practical
(05:18):
examples that illustrate howthese tools can be applied in
different contexts, our focuswill always be on understanding
the underlying theory so thatyou can go out into the world
and apply that theory in morevaried and situational contexts
than we'd ever be able todescribe or anticipate in this
show.
Think of yourself as Neo fromthe Matrix.
(05:41):
The more you see the sourcecode of the business world, the
more effective you'll be atengaging with it.
While none of us can ever hopeto fully comprehend that source
code, the more we study it andopen our eyes to its unseen
forces throughout our work, themore we'll be able to flex our
managerial muscles in ways thatmake a positive difference in
(06:02):
the world, and you can think ofthis podcast as your own
personal morphias, revealing theMatrix at the business world
one episode at a time.
Given our focus on managementtheory, it's important to
understand what that actuallymeans, and here to guide us
through this maze is our guest,ryan McCready.
(06:24):
Welcome, ryan, we're thrilledto have you.
Thanks, travis, for having meon.
Before we dive in, can youshare with our listeners a bit
about your background and work?
Ryan McCreedy (06:38):
Thanks.
Yeah, so I'm Ryan McCready.
I'm a principal in ourorganizational effectiveness
practice here at Sloan.
In addition to that, I have anappointment as a teaching fellow
at Harvard, where I assist afew classes in that division of
teaching education and in asummer school.
In addition to that, I'm adoctoral candidate at William
James College, and I'm currentlyfocusing on leadership
psychology, but specificallyneuroscience and how it relates
(07:00):
to organizational psychology andsocial systems.
I do a lot of research in thisarea, and so I'm really excited
to talk with you today.
Travis Mallett (07:07):
Excellent.
So the term management theoryoften comes across as this
massive abstract concept.
We have scientific theories,for instance, but what sets
management theory apart?
Ryan McCreedy (07:20):
I think I take a unique lens on this.
It's how people process andtechnologies are controlled and
managed in order to createefficiencies and create commerce
and products.
I think what's unique about itis that it has spawned from the
need for efficiencies ratherthan spawning from more
scientific lenses, something I'mcritical on.
There's a lot of businessschool theories that we still
(07:42):
log today that have no evidenceof being effective and don't
have any predictive qualities,but they're still taught and
they're still part of managementtheory.
There is a great SCIOP panel onthis.
For those that don't know, theSociety of Industrial and
Organizational Psychologists hasan annual conference and there
was actually a panel on thingsthat need to die or that have
their time.
(08:03):
Let's talk about learning stylesreal quick.
One of the things we talk aboutis some people are more visual,
some people are more auditory,some people need to read it and
write it down.
There's actually no realevidence behind that.
That's not true.
It's a preference.
People say that that's true,but if you look at their
comprehension, their ability tomove forward, that's not the
case.
Think about the amount of moneyspent on corporate
communications every year.
That doesn't actually proveeffective.
(08:25):
We talk about generations.
We've always talked aboutgenerations for a very long time
and there's actually noevidence that the generations
have strong differences withmost things we talk about at
workplace, but we still teachthem generations he's going to
want this, or baby members aregoing to want this, and there's
not a lot of difference betweenthem when you look at the
numbers and you start toresearch them.
Those are just a few examples.
Travis Mallett (08:45):
It's intriguing how some of those management
concepts seem to persist evenwithout robust evidence.
But for those theories backedby evidence, can you shed some
light on their formation andvalidation processes?
How are they developed and howare they tested?
Ryan McCreedy (09:02):
What's cool about management theory is that it's
closer to the application.
A lot of the theories aredeveloped from scholar
practitioners someone that has atie in the field in an academia
and notices a gap, noticessomething happening in that gap
and then might create a theoryaround it.
And then they go and they tryto test it in the best way
possible.
There's two forms of testing.
There's the clinical, clean andsterile types of testing, where
(09:24):
we do rigid research inlaboratory environments, and
then there's field types ofresearch or action research
where let's find an organizationwhere that's a gap.
Let's try something and put itin a really complex environment
and see what holds and whatstays.
I think that's the beauty ofthis space.
It's different from a lot ofother types of sciences is that
we're willing to go into realhuman systems and try something
(09:45):
out and see if it enhances theprobability of something being
beneficial or something changing.
One of the gaps being worked onright now became more prominent
during COVID, but we had a lotof cross time zone teams.
They started to see reallyinteresting things happen, of
which people would take on thoselater hours to work and connect
the knowledge of the group withthe people in another time zone
(10:08):
or earlier hours for thatmatter.
It's called temporal brokerage.
So some of the research aroundthis it's not quite new, but
it's becoming more prevalent nowis that females people who
identify as female tend to takeon the role of being a temporal
broker more often than men.
Okay, but why?
Well, there's a reallyinteresting thing that they
found by doing research thatwhen women take up the temporal
(10:31):
brokerage, it enhances theamount of power the team sees
across genders.
And the interesting thing isthat women particularly feel
more empowered when anotherwoman takes on that temporal
brokerage and stays those extrahours to help facilitate with
the team in the next time zoneor many times zones over.
However, it does not decreasemen's point of view of the women
on the team.
(10:51):
So it actually enhances theconfidence of women on the team
without causing a negativeeffect of the men and in a way,
it's a way for women to havemore control and autonomy and
take up the leadership role.
Travis Mallett (11:02):
That's a very interesting example, but it also
sounds very abstract andobservational.
We noticed this behavior in theworkplace around gender
disparity in the temporalbrokerage.
But what do we do with that?
What sort of practices orsuggestions might stem from that
insight?
Ryan McCreedy (11:21):
Yeah, and so that's where it gets real messy.
Just because we see somethinghappening, the intervention
could look completely differentfrom there.
It's mostly like here's ourshot in the dark, here's the
best guess.
Go mess around and find out.
Just because women take up thatrole in order to assert more
leadership, is it causing moreburnout?
If that's the case, maybe wecan do awareness training.
If this is happening, this isan example of something that
(11:42):
might happen in our workforce,Something we need to be aware of
.
Why are they doing it?
Well, why aren't we providingwomen opportunities to lead
during regular working hours?
That's something we need toaddress.
Being able to enhance awarenessand co-create is something that
would come out of that.
That's a very it depends answer.
Just common, of course, inconsulting, but what are some
effective ways that we can goabout that to help mitigate
(12:03):
those sorts of behaviors andconsequences?
Travis Mallett (12:06):
Ryan, thank you again for joining us.
This was nothing short ofenlightening.
Before we wrap up, how can ourlisteners connect with you?
Ryan McCreedy (12:15):
Yeah, sure, for the most part, I'm on LinkedIn.
You can find me as Ryan TWMcCready.
That's where I do a lot of mystuff.
I also have a Google Scholarand a Harvard Scholar page.
If you Google Ryan McCready,harvard Scholar or Ryan
McCready-Slong, you should beable to find my information.
I'd love to connect withanybody that's interested and I
love having these conversations.
Travis Mallett (12:35):
Thanks, ryan.
In case you didn't notice, therealm of management theory is
complex and multifaceted, aimingto answer vital questions and
bridge knowledge gaps in humanand organizational behavior.
While some of these theoriesoriginate in controlled lab
(12:56):
settings, others evolve withinthe dynamic real-world
organizational environment.
At the Management TheoryToolbox, our mission is to
unearth the rationale behindthese theories.
As Ryan highlighted, a theory'sapplication is often contextual
.
The aim is to equip you with aprofound understanding so you
(13:18):
can mold these theories to yourunique context.
Before we get on with thebusiness of learning management
theory, let's talk about therelationship between theories
and examples.
That's right.
Let's explore not just thetheory, but let's peel back
another layer and talk about thetheory behind the theory.
(13:40):
This is the Management TheoryToolbox, after all, and we're
not afraid of venturing into themeta and abstract.
Does this sound like the startof our very first philosophical
tangent?
Nope, you're going to have towait until episode one for that.
Let's use personalities as anexample.
(14:01):
If you aren't familiar with theMyers-Briggs personality profile
, it's a highly popularpersonality framework that
delineates four dimensions ofpersonality.
The first is the way you directand receive energy, and that
ranges from extraversion tointroversion.
The next is the way you take ininformation, and that ranges
(14:23):
from sensing to intuition.
The way we decide and come toconclusions is the third
dimension, and it ranges fromthinking to feeling.
And lastly, the way we approachthe outside world ranges from
judging to perceiving.
Every time I've taken aMyers-Briggs personality test,
I'm consistently diagnosed as anINTJ.
(14:45):
The I means that I'mintroverted and tend to get
energized by reflecting on ideasinternally.
The N indicates intuition, orthat I prefer to take in
information by seeing the bigpicture, focusing on patterns
and interrelationships.
The T suggests that I prefer tocome to decisions and
(15:06):
conclusions based on thinking orlogic rather than feelings.
And lastly, the J suggests thatI prefer to judge or take an
organized, planned approach tothe world rather than a
spontaneous, flexible approach.
Now, the Myers-Briggspersonality test typically
provides ratings in percentsbecause each dimension
(15:27):
represents a spectrum ofpossibilities.
For me, I'm rated at the faredges of all of these
characteristics except one I'm99% introverted.
I prefer thinking over emotions98% of the time and I prefer
judging over perceiving 96% ofthe time.
(15:47):
But it's the sensing versusintuition scale that's different
for me.
Here I'm almost exactly in themiddle, only preferring
intuition or big picturethinking 51% of the time.
People who prefer intuition tendto take in information by
seeing the big picture andfocusing mainly on the patterns
(16:08):
and interrelationships theyperceive.
But those who prefer sensingtend to take in information that
is real and tangible.
They focus mainly on what theyperceive using the five senses.
This means that if someone istalking to me in very abstract,
theoretical terms, I can easilyfollow along about half the time
(16:28):
, but I can get lost the otherhalf, not exactly sure what
they're getting at, and I'llvery often ask can you give me
an example?
Once I have an example, though,I can extrapolate from it,
building my own theory, patternsand seeing relationships.
The intuition side of me kicksin and primarily drives the
thought process.
According to the Myers-BriggsCompany, 68% of people across
(16:53):
the globe prefer sensing overintuition.
What this means is that mostpeople want specifics,
step-by-step information orinstructions and are interested
in practical applications, whileonly 32% are comfortable
talking in abstract, generalterms.
For example, in our nextepisode with Harvard instructor
(17:15):
Katie Livingston, we talk invery abstract terms, referring
to organizations as emergent,living human systems, and if you
walk away with your headspinning, unsure how those ideas
relate specifically to you andyour team, your business,
nonprofit organization, then youwon't be alone and also you
(17:36):
will be in luck, because we'lltry to crystallize some of those
ideas in our minds by anchoringthem in some specific examples.
But because this is themanagement theory toolbox, these
examples are not meant to betemplates or patterns to follow
regardless of the context, andthat's what I want to talk about
the relationship between theoryand examples.
(17:59):
In the 1700s, philosopher DavidHume presented the world with a
mind-bending conundrum that'ssince been termed the Problem of
Induction.
A philosopher, surely this mustbe the start of a philosophical
tangent.
Alright, fine, I'll give you asnack-sized version, but you're
(18:19):
still going to have to waituntil future episodes to get a
fully fleshed-out philosophicaltangent.
So what were we talking about?
Alright, david Hume's Problemof Induction.
At its core, hume questionedour ability to move from
specific instances to broadgeneralizations.
(18:40):
If you've ever seen a whiteswan and concluded all swans
must be white, you've made aninductive leap.
But how certain can you beTomorrow, could you not stumble
upon a black swan, renderingyour theory incomplete or even
incorrect?
Hume argued that no matter howmany times a particular event
(19:04):
follows another, we cannot beabsolutely certain that it will
do so in the future Just becausea theory seems to fit past
examples doesn't guarantee itwill align with future ones.
Our human tendency to seekpatterns, to form theories from
examples, is grounded more inhabit than in any objective
(19:27):
logical certainty.
Applying this to our managementtheory, the difference between
theory and example becomescrystal clear.
Theories are abstractconstructs deduced from a myriad
of examples.
Examples, on the other hand,are tangible, specific instances
that bring a theory to life,helping us navigate its nuances.
(19:50):
But herein lies the perilExtrapling broad theories from a
handful of examples might leaveus standing on shaky ground.
This might lead one to thinkthe more examples, the better
the theory right.
Yet even when armed with a vastamount of data, hume's problem
of induction warns us of thepitfalls of complacency.
(20:13):
An extensive data set mightreduce the chances of error, but
it cannot eliminate theinherent uncertainty of
inductive reasoning.
In essence, while examplesprovide the bedrock upon which
theories are built, we must bewary of treating these theories
as truth.
They are, after all, our bestguesses, shaped and refined by
(20:36):
the examples we have at hand.
And as our understandingdeepens, our theories must
evolve, adapt and sometimes eventransform.
So as we wade through thewaters of management theories,
let's be vigilant.
Let's understand the examples,but also remember to question
the theories they give rise to,for in the dance between theory
(21:00):
and example, it's the balance,the interrogation and the
dialogue that gives us trueinsight.
I hope you'll join me on thisexhilarating and sometimes
mind-bending exploration.
Subscribe to the ManagementTheory Toolbox on your favorite
podcast platform.
We have a diverse array ofexperts lined up for the first
(21:23):
season as we aspire to decodeintricate management topics and
transform them into tangibletools for your professional
arsenal.
With that, thank you for tuningin to the Management Theory
Toolbox.
Together, let's embrace thecomplexity of management, equip
ourselves with a diverse rangeof tools and thrive amidst the
(21:46):
complexities of the manageriallandscape.
In our next episode, join usalongside Harvard instructor
Katie Livingston as we explorethe fascinating world of
organizations, emergence andliving systems.
Until then, keep exploring,keep learning and keep building
your Management Theory Toolbox.
And I think that's the beauty of this space.
It's different from a lot ofother types of sciences is that
we're willing to go into realhuman systems and try something
out and see if it enhances theprobability of something being
beneficial or something changing.
Travis Mallett (00:14):
Welcome to the Management Theory Toolbox.
I'm your host, travis Mallett,and I'm thrilled to have you
join me on this journey ofcontinuous learning and growth
as we navigate the dynamic worldof management.
Now, this isn't your typicalmanagement podcast.
Yes, there are plenty ofresources out there that will
give you the ABCs of how to runa meeting, hire someone or even
(00:38):
how to fake a sick day withoutgetting caught, but here we like
to talk about thebehind-the-scenes topics, those
concepts and ideas whichtranscend specific management
practices, the ideas which givebirth to good management and
business practices, rather thansimply restate them.
We aren't going to give youspecific tips and tricks for
(01:01):
becoming an effective manager.
Here at the Management TheoryToolbox, we're interested into
why, behind it, all thediscoveries of behavioral
science, psychology, businessand economics that will open our
eyes to what's happening behindthe scenes.
If you're a manager, teamleader, aspiring entrepreneur,
(01:21):
business student or simplysomeone toying around with the
idea of starting a business, andyou're interested in a
scientifically rooted discussionof management and business, one
which systematically discussesthe ideas behind the specific
practices you've probablyalready heard a lot about, then
this podcast is for you.
One thing you'll be able tocount on is that every statement
(01:43):
is supported by research andyou'll be able to download the
show notes to find links andreferences to the source
material for everything taught.
Thank you, speaking of takingthings to the next level, ever
wondered what organizations haveto do with the universe and
everything else out there?
Strap in, because we're alsolaunched into some philosophical
tangents.
Who knows, we might even answersome questions you didn't know
(02:06):
you had, like how studyingorganizations might be connected
with the mysteries of lifeitself.
But hey, no pressure.
This isn't about having anexistential crisis.
It's about uncovering meaningand wonder amidst the chaos of
spreadsheets, employee reviewsand quarterly reports.
So what do I mean when I talkabout a management toolbox?
(02:30):
Although we're going to bestudying the behind the scenes
of management and business andconnecting those to big picture
ideas, we can't hope to developa so-called unified theory of
management.
Management is too complex.
There are too many variables.
The human brain is consideredby many complexity theorists to
(02:50):
be the most complex object inthe universe when measured by
information density.
Since businesses are comprisedof people, sell to people and
exist within a social context,we're talking about one of the
most complex enterprises inexistence.
As anyone who's had a directreport knows, it's impossible to
(03:11):
completely figure someone out,let alone a whole team, an
organization or an industry.
So what is the managementtheory toolbox?
Rather than search for acomplete theory to explain
everything about management, wecan think of ourselves as gazing
at the stars.
An infinite number of datapoints and interconnected
(03:32):
concepts are in view, so let'sstart picking out clusters of
them, defining constellations ofideas and studying them,
putting each in our pocket a newnugget of information or
insight, a management tool thatwe can pull out later to
reexamine or refresh when welearn something new, or a tool
that we can draw upon when thetime and situation is right.
(03:53):
It's important to understandthat mastery of management is a
continuous journey, not adestination.
There is no one size fits allsolution or secret formula that
guarantees success, as we willdiscover in later episodes.
The overall conclusion of modernmanagement and leadership
(04:14):
theory is that there is noso-called best style of
management or leadership.
A lot of it is contextual, andthe best managers draw on a
variety of leadership stylesdepending on the demands of the
situation.
So our focus will be onembracing the evolving nature of
management and arming ourselveswith an ever-expanding toolkit.
(04:36):
One of my management professorsexplained it this way, the more
tools we have under our belts,the better equipped we are to
tackle the challenges that comeour way.
Just like a skilled craftsmanrelies on a diverse set of tools
to handle different tasks, asmanagers we need a broad range
(04:57):
of theories, insights andstrategies to thrive in our
roles.
The goal of this podcast is toprovide you with a rich
collection of tools that you candraw upon when faced with
complex managerial situations.
We'll dive into variousmanagement theories, explore
real-world case studies and,while we'll share some practical
(05:18):
examples that illustrate howthese tools can be applied in
different contexts, our focuswill always be on understanding
the underlying theory so thatyou can go out into the world
and apply that theory in morevaried and situational contexts
than we'd ever be able todescribe or anticipate in this
show.
Think of yourself as Neo fromthe Matrix.
(05:41):
The more you see the sourcecode of the business world, the
more effective you'll be atengaging with it.
While none of us can ever hopeto fully comprehend that source
code, the more we study it andopen our eyes to its unseen
forces throughout our work, themore we'll be able to flex our
managerial muscles in ways thatmake a positive difference in
(06:02):
the world, and you can think ofthis podcast as your own
personal morphias, revealing theMatrix at the business world
one episode at a time.
Given our focus on managementtheory, it's important to
understand what that actuallymeans, and here to guide us
through this maze is our guest,ryan McCready.
(06:24):
Welcome, ryan, we're thrilledto have you.
Thanks, travis, for having meon.
Before we dive in, can youshare with our listeners a bit
about your background and work?
Ryan McCreedy (06:38):
Thanks.
Yeah, so I'm Ryan McCready.
I'm a principal in ourorganizational effectiveness
practice here at Sloan.
In addition to that, I have anappointment as a teaching fellow
at Harvard, where I assist afew classes in that division of
teaching education and in asummer school.
In addition to that, I'm adoctoral candidate at William
James College, and I'm currentlyfocusing on leadership
psychology, but specificallyneuroscience and how it relates
(07:00):
to organizational psychology andsocial systems.
I do a lot of research in thisarea, and so I'm really excited
to talk with you today.
Travis Mallett (07:07):
Excellent.
So the term management theoryoften comes across as this
massive abstract concept.
We have scientific theories,for instance, but what sets
management theory apart?
Ryan McCreedy (07:20):
I think I take a unique lens on this.
It's how people process andtechnologies are controlled and
managed in order to createefficiencies and create commerce
and products.
I think what's unique about itis that it has spawned from the
need for efficiencies ratherthan spawning from more
scientific lenses, something I'mcritical on.
There's a lot of businessschool theories that we still
(07:42):
log today that have no evidenceof being effective and don't
have any predictive qualities,but they're still taught and
they're still part of managementtheory.
There is a great SCIOP panel onthis.
For those that don't know, theSociety of Industrial and
Organizational Psychologists hasan annual conference and there
was actually a panel on thingsthat need to die or that have
their time.
(08:03):
Let's talk about learning stylesreal quick.
One of the things we talk aboutis some people are more visual,
some people are more auditory,some people need to read it and
write it down.
There's actually no realevidence behind that.
That's not true.
It's a preference.
People say that that's true,but if you look at their
comprehension, their ability tomove forward, that's not the
case.
Think about the amount of moneyspent on corporate
communications every year.
That doesn't actually proveeffective.
(08:25):
We talk about generations.
We've always talked aboutgenerations for a very long time
and there's actually noevidence that the generations
have strong differences withmost things we talk about at
workplace, but we still teachthem generations he's going to
want this, or baby members aregoing to want this, and there's
not a lot of difference betweenthem when you look at the
numbers and you start toresearch them.
Those are just a few examples.
Travis Mallett (08:45):
It's intriguing how some of those management
concepts seem to persist evenwithout robust evidence.
But for those theories backedby evidence, can you shed some
light on their formation andvalidation processes?
How are they developed and howare they tested?
Ryan McCreedy (09:02):
What's cool about management theory is that it's
closer to the application.
A lot of the theories aredeveloped from scholar
practitioners someone that has atie in the field in an academia
and notices a gap, noticessomething happening in that gap
and then might create a theoryaround it.
And then they go and they tryto test it in the best way
possible.
There's two forms of testing.
There's the clinical, clean andsterile types of testing, where
(09:24):
we do rigid research inlaboratory environments, and
then there's field types ofresearch or action research
where let's find an organizationwhere that's a gap.
Let's try something and put itin a really complex environment
and see what holds and whatstays.
I think that's the beauty ofthis space.
It's different from a lot ofother types of sciences is that
we're willing to go into realhuman systems and try something
(09:45):
out and see if it enhances theprobability of something being
beneficial or something changing.
One of the gaps being worked onright now became more prominent
during COVID, but we had a lotof cross time zone teams.
They started to see reallyinteresting things happen, of
which people would take on thoselater hours to work and connect
the knowledge of the group withthe people in another time zone
(10:08):
or earlier hours for thatmatter.
It's called temporal brokerage.
So some of the research aroundthis it's not quite new, but
it's becoming more prevalent nowis that females people who
identify as female tend to takeon the role of being a temporal
broker more often than men.
Okay, but why?
Well, there's a reallyinteresting thing that they
found by doing research thatwhen women take up the temporal
(10:31):
brokerage, it enhances theamount of power the team sees
across genders.
And the interesting thing isthat women particularly feel
more empowered when anotherwoman takes on that temporal
brokerage and stays those extrahours to help facilitate with
the team in the next time zoneor many times zones over.
However, it does not decreasemen's point of view of the women
on the team.
(10:51):
So it actually enhances theconfidence of women on the team
without causing a negativeeffect of the men and in a way,
it's a way for women to havemore control and autonomy and
take up the leadership role.
Travis Mallett (11:02):
That's a very interesting example, but it also
sounds very abstract andobservational.
We noticed this behavior in theworkplace around gender
disparity in the temporalbrokerage.
But what do we do with that?
What sort of practices orsuggestions might stem from that
insight?
Ryan McCreedy (11:21):
Yeah, and so that's where it gets real messy.
Just because we see somethinghappening, the intervention
could look completely differentfrom there.
It's mostly like here's ourshot in the dark, here's the
best guess.
Go mess around and find out.
Just because women take up thatrole in order to assert more
leadership, is it causing moreburnout?
If that's the case, maybe wecan do awareness training.
If this is happening, this isan example of something that
(11:42):
might happen in our workforce,Something we need to be aware of
.
Why are they doing it?
Well, why aren't we providingwomen opportunities to lead
during regular working hours?
That's something we need toaddress.
Being able to enhance awarenessand co-create is something that
would come out of that.
That's a very it depends answer.
Just common, of course, inconsulting, but what are some
effective ways that we can goabout that to help mitigate
(12:03):
those sorts of behaviors andconsequences?
Travis Mallett (12:06):
Ryan, thank you again for joining us.
This was nothing short ofenlightening.
Before we wrap up, how can ourlisteners connect with you?
Ryan McCreedy (12:15):
Yeah, sure, for the most part, I'm on LinkedIn.
You can find me as Ryan TWMcCready.
That's where I do a lot of mystuff.
I also have a Google Scholarand a Harvard Scholar page.
If you Google Ryan McCready,harvard Scholar or Ryan
McCready-Slong, you should beable to find my information.
I'd love to connect withanybody that's interested and I
love having these conversations.
Travis Mallett (12:35):
Thanks, ryan.
In case you didn't notice, therealm of management theory is
complex and multifaceted, aimingto answer vital questions and
bridge knowledge gaps in humanand organizational behavior.
While some of these theoriesoriginate in controlled lab
(12:56):
settings, others evolve withinthe dynamic real-world
organizational environment.
At the Management TheoryToolbox, our mission is to
unearth the rationale behindthese theories.
As Ryan highlighted, a theory'sapplication is often contextual
.
The aim is to equip you with aprofound understanding so you
(13:18):
can mold these theories to yourunique context.
Before we get on with thebusiness of learning management
theory, let's talk about therelationship between theories
and examples.
That's right.
Let's explore not just thetheory, but let's peel back
another layer and talk about thetheory behind the theory.
(13:40):
This is the Management TheoryToolbox, after all, and we're
not afraid of venturing into themeta and abstract.
Does this sound like the startof our very first philosophical
tangent?
Nope, you're going to have towait until episode one for that.
Let's use personalities as anexample.
(14:01):
If you aren't familiar with theMyers-Briggs personality profile
, it's a highly popularpersonality framework that
delineates four dimensions ofpersonality.
The first is the way you directand receive energy, and that
ranges from extraversion tointroversion.
The next is the way you take ininformation, and that ranges
(14:23):
from sensing to intuition.
The way we decide and come toconclusions is the third
dimension, and it ranges fromthinking to feeling.
And lastly, the way we approachthe outside world ranges from
judging to perceiving.
Every time I've taken aMyers-Briggs personality test,
I'm consistently diagnosed as anINTJ.
(14:45):
The I means that I'mintroverted and tend to get
energized by reflecting on ideasinternally.
The N indicates intuition, orthat I prefer to take in
information by seeing the bigpicture, focusing on patterns
and interrelationships.
The T suggests that I prefer tocome to decisions and
(15:06):
conclusions based on thinking orlogic rather than feelings.
And lastly, the J suggests thatI prefer to judge or take an
organized, planned approach tothe world rather than a
spontaneous, flexible approach.
Now, the Myers-Briggspersonality test typically
provides ratings in percentsbecause each dimension
(15:27):
represents a spectrum ofpossibilities.
For me, I'm rated at the faredges of all of these
characteristics except one I'm99% introverted.
I prefer thinking over emotions98% of the time and I prefer
judging over perceiving 96% ofthe time.
(15:47):
But it's the sensing versusintuition scale that's different
for me.
Here I'm almost exactly in themiddle, only preferring
intuition or big picturethinking 51% of the time.
People who prefer intuition tendto take in information by
seeing the big picture andfocusing mainly on the patterns
(16:08):
and interrelationships theyperceive.
But those who prefer sensingtend to take in information that
is real and tangible.
They focus mainly on what theyperceive using the five senses.
This means that if someone istalking to me in very abstract,
theoretical terms, I can easilyfollow along about half the time
(16:28):
, but I can get lost the otherhalf, not exactly sure what
they're getting at, and I'llvery often ask can you give me
an example?
Once I have an example, though,I can extrapolate from it,
building my own theory, patternsand seeing relationships.
The intuition side of me kicksin and primarily drives the
thought process.
According to the Myers-BriggsCompany, 68% of people across
(16:53):
the globe prefer sensing overintuition.
What this means is that mostpeople want specifics,
step-by-step information orinstructions and are interested
in practical applications, whileonly 32% are comfortable
talking in abstract, generalterms.
For example, in our nextepisode with Harvard instructor
(17:15):
Katie Livingston, we talk invery abstract terms, referring
to organizations as emergent,living human systems, and if you
walk away with your headspinning, unsure how those ideas
relate specifically to you andyour team, your business,
nonprofit organization, then youwon't be alone and also you
(17:36):
will be in luck, because we'lltry to crystallize some of those
ideas in our minds by anchoringthem in some specific examples.
But because this is themanagement theory toolbox, these
examples are not meant to betemplates or patterns to follow
regardless of the context, andthat's what I want to talk about
the relationship between theoryand examples.
(17:59):
In the 1700s, philosopher DavidHume presented the world with a
mind-bending conundrum that'ssince been termed the Problem of
Induction.
A philosopher, surely this mustbe the start of a philosophical
tangent.
Alright, fine, I'll give you asnack-sized version, but you're
(18:19):
still going to have to waituntil future episodes to get a
fully fleshed-out philosophicaltangent.
So what were we talking about?
Alright, david Hume's Problemof Induction.
At its core, hume questionedour ability to move from
specific instances to broadgeneralizations.
(18:40):
If you've ever seen a whiteswan and concluded all swans
must be white, you've made aninductive leap.
But how certain can you beTomorrow, could you not stumble
upon a black swan, renderingyour theory incomplete or even
incorrect?
Hume argued that no matter howmany times a particular event
(19:04):
follows another, we cannot beabsolutely certain that it will
do so in the future Just becausea theory seems to fit past
examples doesn't guarantee itwill align with future ones.
Our human tendency to seekpatterns, to form theories from
examples, is grounded more inhabit than in any objective
(19:27):
logical certainty.
Applying this to our managementtheory, the difference between
theory and example becomescrystal clear.
Theories are abstractconstructs deduced from a myriad
of examples.
Examples, on the other hand,are tangible, specific instances
that bring a theory to life,helping us navigate its nuances.
(19:50):
But herein lies the perilExtrapling broad theories from a
handful of examples might leaveus standing on shaky ground.
This might lead one to thinkthe more examples, the better
the theory right.
Yet even when armed with a vastamount of data, hume's problem
of induction warns us of thepitfalls of complacency.
(20:13):
An extensive data set mightreduce the chances of error, but
it cannot eliminate theinherent uncertainty of
inductive reasoning.
In essence, while examplesprovide the bedrock upon which
theories are built, we must bewary of treating these theories
as truth.
They are, after all, our bestguesses, shaped and refined by
(20:36):
the examples we have at hand.
And as our understandingdeepens, our theories must
evolve, adapt and sometimes eventransform.
So as we wade through thewaters of management theories,
let's be vigilant.
Let's understand the examples,but also remember to question
the theories they give rise to,for in the dance between theory
(21:00):
and example, it's the balance,the interrogation and the
dialogue that gives us trueinsight.
I hope you'll join me on thisexhilarating and sometimes
mind-bending exploration.
Subscribe to the ManagementTheory Toolbox on your favorite
podcast platform.
We have a diverse array ofexperts lined up for the first
(21:23):
season as we aspire to decodeintricate management topics and
transform them into tangibletools for your professional
arsenal.
With that, thank you for tuningin to the Management Theory
Toolbox.
Together, let's embrace thecomplexity of management, equip
ourselves with a diverse rangeof tools and thrive amidst the
(21:46):
complexities of the manageriallandscape.
In our next episode, join usalongside Harvard instructor
Katie Livingston as we explorethe fascinating world of
organizations, emergence andliving systems.
Until then, keep exploring,keep learning and keep building
your Management Theory Toolbox.
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