The Management Theory Toolbox

Episode 0: Introduction to The Management Theory Toolbox with Ryan McCreedy

• Travis Mallett • Season 1 • Episode 0

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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.

Ryan McCreedy:

And I think that's the beauty of this space. It's different from a lot of other types of sciences is that we're willing to go into real human systems and try something out and see if it enhances the probability of something being beneficial or something changing.

Travis Mallett:

Welcome to the Management Theory Toolbox. I'm your host, travis Mallett, and I'm thrilled to have you join me on this journey of continuous learning and growth as we navigate the dynamic world of management. Now, this isn't your typical management podcast. Yes, there are plenty of resources out there that will give you the ABCs of how to run a meeting, hire someone or even how to fake a sick day without getting caught, but here we like to talk about the behind-the-scenes topics, those concepts and ideas which transcend specific management practices, the ideas which give birth to good management and business practices, rather than simply restate them. We aren't going to give you specific tips and tricks for becoming an effective manager. Here at the Management Theory Toolbox, we're interested into why, behind it, all the discoveries of behavioral science, psychology, business and economics that will open our eyes to what's happening behind the scenes. If you're a manager, team leader, aspiring entrepreneur, business student or simply someone toying around with the idea of starting a business, and you're interested in a scientifically rooted discussion of management and business, one which systematically discusses the ideas behind the specific practices you've probably already heard a lot about, then this podcast is for you. One thing you'll be able to count on is that every statement is supported by research and you'll be able to download the show notes to find links and references to the source material for everything taught. Thank you, speaking of taking things to the next level, ever wondered what organizations have to do with the universe and everything else out there? Strap in, because we're also launched into some philosophical tangents. Who knows, we might even answer some questions you didn't know you had, like how studying organizations might be connected with the mysteries of life itself. But hey, no pressure. This isn't about having an existential crisis. It's about uncovering meaning and wonder amidst the chaos of spreadsheets, employee reviews and quarterly reports. So what do I mean when I talk about a management toolbox?

Travis Mallett:

Although we're going to be studying the behind the scenes of management and business and connecting those to big picture ideas, we can't hope to develop a so-called unified theory of management. Management is too complex. There are too many variables. The human brain is considered by many complexity theorists to be the most complex object in the universe when measured by information density. Since businesses are comprised of people, sell to people and exist within a social context, we're talking about one of the most complex enterprises in existence.

Travis Mallett:

As anyone who's had a direct report knows, it's impossible to completely figure someone out, let alone a whole team, an organization or an industry. So what is the management theory toolbox? Rather than search for a complete theory to explain everything about management, we can think of ourselves as gazing at the stars. An infinite number of data points and interconnected concepts are in view, so let's start picking out clusters of them, defining constellations of ideas and studying them, putting each in our pocket a new nugget of information or insight, a management tool that we can pull out later to reexamine or refresh when we learn something new, or a tool that we can draw upon when the time and situation is right. It's important to understand that mastery of management is a continuous journey, not a destination. There is no one size fits all solution or secret formula that guarantees success, as we will discover in later episodes.

Travis Mallett:

The overall conclusion of modern management and leadership theory is that there is no so-called best style of management or leadership. A lot of it is contextual, and the best managers draw on a variety of leadership styles depending on the demands of the situation. So our focus will be on embracing the evolving nature of management and arming ourselves with an ever-expanding toolkit. One of my management professors explained it this way, the more tools we have under our belts, the better equipped we are to tackle the challenges that come our way. Just like a skilled craftsman relies on a diverse set of tools to handle different tasks, as managers we need a broad range of theories, insights and strategies to thrive in our roles.

Travis Mallett:

The goal of this podcast is to provide you with a rich collection of tools that you can draw upon when faced with complex managerial situations. We'll dive into various management theories, explore real-world case studies and, while we'll share some practical examples that illustrate how these tools can be applied in different contexts, our focus will always be on understanding the underlying theory so that you can go out into the world and apply that theory in more varied and situational contexts than we'd ever be able to describe or anticipate in this show. Think of yourself as Neo from the Matrix. The more you see the source code of the business world, the more effective you'll be at engaging with it. While none of us can ever hope to fully comprehend that source code, the more we study it and open our eyes to its unseen forces throughout our work, the more we'll be able to flex our managerial muscles in ways that make a positive difference in the world, and you can think of this podcast as your own personal morphias, revealing the Matrix at the business world one episode at a time.

Travis Mallett:

Given our focus on management theory, it's important to understand what that actually means, and here to guide us through this maze is our guest, ryan McCready. Welcome, ryan, we're thrilled to have you. Thanks, travis, for having me on. Before we dive in, can you share with our listeners a bit about your background and work?

Ryan McCreedy:

Thanks. Yeah, so I'm Ryan McCready. I'm a principal in our organizational effectiveness practice here at Sloan. In addition to that, I have an appointment as a teaching fellow at Harvard, where I assist a few classes in that division of teaching education and in a summer school. In addition to that, I'm a doctoral candidate at William James College, and I'm currently focusing on leadership psychology, but specifically neuroscience and how it relates to organizational psychology and social systems. I do a lot of research in this area, and so I'm really excited to talk with you today.

Travis Mallett:

Excellent. So the term management theory often comes across as this massive abstract concept. We have scientific theories, for instance, but what sets management theory apart?

Ryan McCreedy:

I think I take a unique lens on this. It's how people process and technologies are controlled and managed in order to create efficiencies and create commerce and products. I think what's unique about it is that it has spawned from the need for efficiencies rather than spawning from more scientific lenses, something I'm critical on. There's a lot of business school theories that we still log today that have no evidence of being effective and don't have any predictive qualities, but they're still taught and they're still part of management theory. There is a great SCIOP panel on this. For those that don't know, the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists has an annual conference and there was actually a panel on things that need to die or that have their time.

Ryan McCreedy:

Let's talk about learning styles real quick. One of the things we talk about is some people are more visual, some people are more auditory, some people need to read it and write it down. There's actually no real evidence 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 to move forward, that's not the case. Think about the amount of money spent on corporate communications every year. That doesn't actually prove effective. We talk about generations. We've always talked about generations for a very long time and there's actually no evidence that the generations have strong differences with most things we talk about at workplace, but we still teach them generations he's going to want this, or baby members are going to want this, and there's not a lot of difference between them when you look at the numbers and you start to research them. Those are just a few examples.

Travis Mallett:

It's intriguing how some of those management concepts seem to persist even without robust evidence. But for those theories backed by evidence, can you shed some light on their formation and validation processes? How are they developed and how are they tested?

Ryan McCreedy:

What's cool about management theory is that it's closer to the application. A lot of the theories are developed from scholar practitioners someone that has a tie in the field in an academia and notices a gap, notices something happening in that gap and then might create a theory around it. And then they go and they try to test it in the best way possible. There's two forms of testing. There's the clinical, clean and sterile types of testing, where we do rigid research in laboratory environments, and then there's field types of research or action research where let's find an organization where that's a gap. Let's try something and put it in a really complex environment and see what holds and what stays. I think that's the beauty of this space. It's different from a lot of other types of sciences is that we're willing to go into real human systems and try something out and see if it enhances the probability of something being beneficial or something changing.

Ryan McCreedy:

One of the gaps being worked on right now became more prominent during COVID, but we had a lot of cross time zone teams. They started to see really interesting things happen, of which people would take on those later hours to work and connect the knowledge of the group with the people in another time zone or earlier hours for that matter. It's called temporal brokerage. So some of the research around this it's not quite new, but it's becoming more prevalent now is that females people who identify as female tend to take on the role of being a temporal broker more often than men.

Ryan McCreedy:

Okay, but why? Well, there's a really interesting thing that they found by doing research that when women take up the temporal brokerage, it enhances the amount of power the team sees across genders. And the interesting thing is that women particularly feel more empowered when another woman takes on that temporal brokerage and stays those extra hours to help facilitate with the team in the next time zone or many times zones over. However, it does not decrease men's point of view of the women on the team. So it actually enhances the confidence of women on the team without causing a negative effect of the men and in a way, it's a way for women to have more control and autonomy and take up the leadership role.

Travis Mallett:

That's a very interesting example, but it also sounds very abstract and observational. We noticed this behavior in the workplace around gender disparity in the temporal brokerage. But what do we do with that? What sort of practices or suggestions might stem from that insight?

Ryan McCreedy:

Yeah, and so that's where it gets real messy. Just because we see something happening, the intervention could look completely different from there. It's mostly like here's our shot in the dark, here's the best guess. Go mess around and find out. Just because women take up that role in order to assert more leadership, is it causing more burnout? If that's the case, maybe we can do awareness training. If this is happening, this is an example of something that might happen in our workforce, Something we need to be aware of. Why are they doing it? Well, why aren't we providing women opportunities to lead during regular working hours? That's something we need to address. Being able to enhance awareness and co-create is something that would come out of that. That's a very it depends answer. Just common, of course, in consulting, but what are some effective ways that we can go about that to help mitigate those sorts of behaviors and consequences?

Travis Mallett:

Ryan, thank you again for joining us. This was nothing short of enlightening. Before we wrap up, how can our listeners connect with you?

Ryan McCreedy:

Yeah, sure, for the most part, I'm on LinkedIn. You can find me as Ryan TW McCready. That's where I do a lot of my stuff. I also have a Google Scholar and a Harvard Scholar page. If you Google Ryan McCready, harvard Scholar or Ryan McCready-Slong, you should be able to find my information. I'd love to connect with anybody that's interested and I love having these conversations.

Travis Mallett:

Thanks, ryan. In case you didn't notice, the realm of management theory is complex and multifaceted, aiming to answer vital questions and bridge knowledge gaps in human and organizational behavior. While some of these theories originate in controlled lab settings, others evolve within the dynamic real-world organizational environment. At the Management Theory Toolbox, our mission is to unearth the rationale behind these theories. As Ryan highlighted, a theory's application is often contextual. The aim is to equip you with a profound understanding so you can mold these theories to your unique context. Before we get on with the business of learning management theory, let's talk about the relationship between theories and examples. That's right. Let's explore not just the theory, but let's peel back another layer and talk about the theory behind the theory. This is the Management Theory Toolbox, after all, and we're not afraid of venturing into the meta and abstract. Does this sound like the start of our very first philosophical tangent? Nope, you're going to have to wait until episode one for that. Let's use personalities as an example.

Travis Mallett:

If you aren't familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality profile, it's a highly popular personality framework that delineates four dimensions of personality. The first is the way you direct and receive energy, and that ranges from extraversion to introversion. The next is the way you take in information, and that ranges from sensing to intuition. The way we decide and come to conclusions is the third dimension, and it ranges from thinking to feeling. And lastly, the way we approach the outside world ranges from judging to perceiving. Every time I've taken a Myers-Briggs personality test, I'm consistently diagnosed as an INTJ. The I means that I'm introverted and tend to get energized by reflecting on ideas internally. The N indicates intuition, or that I prefer to take in information by seeing the big picture, focusing on patterns and interrelationships. The T suggests that I prefer to come to decisions and conclusions based on thinking or logic rather than feelings. And lastly, the J suggests that I prefer to judge or take an organized, planned approach to the world rather than a spontaneous, flexible approach. Now, the Myers-Briggs personality test typically provides ratings in percents because each dimension represents a spectrum of possibilities. For me, I'm rated at the far edges of all of these characteristics except one I'm 99% introverted. I prefer thinking over emotions 98% of the time and I prefer judging over perceiving 96% of the time. But it's the sensing versus intuition scale that's different for me. Here I'm almost exactly in the middle, only preferring intuition or big picture thinking 51% of the time.

Travis Mallett:

People who prefer intuition tend to take in information by seeing the big picture and focusing mainly on the patterns and interrelationships they perceive. But those who prefer sensing tend to take in information that is real and tangible. They focus mainly on what they perceive using the five senses. This means that if someone is talking to me in very abstract, theoretical terms, I can easily follow along about half the time, but I can get lost the other half, not exactly sure what they're getting at, and I'll very often ask can you give me an example? Once I have an example, though, I can extrapolate from it, building my own theory, patterns and seeing relationships. The intuition side of me kicks in and primarily drives the thought process. According to the Myers-Briggs Company, 68% of people across the globe prefer sensing over intuition. What this means is that most people want specifics, step-by-step information or instructions and are interested in practical applications, while only 32% are comfortable talking in abstract, general terms. For example, in our next episode with Harvard instructor Katie Livingston, we talk in very abstract terms, referring to organizations as emergent, living human systems, and if you walk away with your head spinning, unsure how those ideas relate specifically to you and your team, your business, nonprofit organization, then you won't be alone and also you will be in luck, because we'll try to crystallize some of those ideas in our minds by anchoring them in some specific examples. But because this is the management theory toolbox, these examples are not meant to be templates or patterns to follow regardless of the context, and that's what I want to talk about the relationship between theory and examples.

Travis Mallett:

In the 1700s, philosopher David Hume presented the world with a mind-bending conundrum that's since been termed the Problem of Induction. A philosopher, surely this must be the start of a philosophical tangent. Alright, fine, I'll give you a snack-sized version, but you're still going to have to wait until future episodes to get a fully fleshed-out philosophical tangent. So what were we talking about? Alright, david Hume's Problem of Induction. At its core, hume questioned our ability to move from specific instances to broad generalizations. If you've ever seen a white swan and concluded all swans must be white, you've made an inductive leap. But how certain can you be Tomorrow, could you not stumble upon a black swan, rendering your theory incomplete or even incorrect? Hume argued that no matter how many times a particular event follows another, we cannot be absolutely certain that it will do so in the future Just because a theory seems to fit past examples doesn't guarantee it will align with future ones.

Travis Mallett:

Our human tendency to seek patterns, to form theories from examples, is grounded more in habit than in any objective logical certainty. Applying this to our management theory, the difference between theory and example becomes crystal clear. Theories are abstract constructs 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. But herein lies the peril Extrapling broad theories from a handful of examples might leave us standing on shaky ground. This might lead one to think the more examples, the better the theory right.

Travis Mallett:

Yet even when armed with a vast amount of data, hume's problem of induction warns us of the pitfalls of complacency. An extensive data set might reduce the chances of error, but it cannot eliminate the inherent uncertainty of inductive reasoning. In essence, while examples provide the bedrock upon which theories are built, we must be wary of treating these theories as truth. They are, after all, our best guesses, shaped and refined by the examples we have at hand. And as our understanding deepens, our theories must evolve, adapt and sometimes even transform. So as we wade through the waters 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 and example, it's the balance, the interrogation and the dialogue that gives us true insight.

Travis Mallett:

I hope you'll join me on this exhilarating and sometimes mind-bending exploration. Subscribe to the Management Theory Toolbox on your favorite podcast platform. We have a diverse array of experts lined up for the first season as we aspire to decode intricate management topics and transform them into tangible tools for your professional arsenal. With that, thank you for tuning in to the Management Theory Toolbox. Together, let's embrace the complexity of management, equip ourselves with a diverse range of tools and thrive amidst the complexities of the managerial landscape. In our next episode, join us alongside Harvard instructor Katie Livingston as we explore the fascinating world of organizations, emergence and living systems. Until then, keep exploring, keep learning and keep building your Management Theory Toolbox.

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Travis Mallett, ALM

Host
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Ryan T. W. McCreedy, ALM

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