Theories at Work: Which One Actually Helps?

Editorial Note: This essay sits at the centre of the Cultivated canon. It explores how theories quietly shape the way organisations think, decide, and act — often without realising it. Rather than arguing for any single model, it offers a more fundamental question: is the theory you’re using actually helping?
This piece is best read slowly, as a lens rather than a prescription.

Theories at Work: Which One Actually Helps?

Work is full of theories.

Matrix organisations.
Hierarchies.
Agile frameworks.
Marketing models.
Leadership philosophies.
Communication systems.

There is a theory for almost everything.

And it is never really a choice between theory or no theory.
It is always a choice between which theory you are operating inside — whether you realise it or not.

What a Theory Really Is

A dictionary definition describes a theory as:

A coherent group of propositions used to explain and predict phenomena.

But the older meaning is more revealing.

The word theōria comes from Greek and Latin roots meaning contemplation.
A way of looking.

That is what a theory really is.
A lens.

A way to see work.
A way to extract meaning.
A way to explain what is happening — and what might happen next.

Once a theory is in place, it shapes everything.
How work is organised.
How success is measured.
How problems are interpreted.
How people talk to one another.

Without theories, work would collapse into noise.
Too much data.
Too many opinions.
No shared frame.

Theories give us structure.
They help us decide what matters.

The Trouble with Theories

The problem is not theory itself.

The problem is that most organisations do not consciously choose their theories.
They inherit them.
Absorb them.
Buy them.
Or adopt them in moments of pressure.

Often they arrive fully formed — confident, convincing, and expensive.

Once inside a theory, it becomes invisible.
Language hardens.
Assumptions settle.
Questioning feels disruptive.

Some theories are grounded, tested, and genuinely useful.
Others sound plausible but fail under strain.
Some require specialist language simply to participate.
Others are little more than ideology in professional clothing.

So the real question is not:

Do we need a theory?

It is:

Is this theory helping?

Utility Is the Only Test That Matters

A theory earns its place through use.

Not elegance.
Not popularity.
Not how well it sits on slides.

A useful theory helps people:

• understand their organisation more clearly
• deliver real value to customers
• create better conditions for the people doing the work

If a theory cannot be examined, tested, or adapted, it is no longer a tool.
It is a belief.

And beliefs are poor substitutes for thinking.

When Theory Runs Ahead of Reality

I have seen organisations adopt theories wholesale — and struggle as a result.

One replaced a simple hierarchy with a matrix structure in the name of modernity.
The outcome was confusion.
Two managers instead of one.
Conflicting priorities.
Slower delivery.
Quiet attrition.
Confusion.
Administrative burden.

Another invested heavily in a large-scale "agile" delivery framework, convinced alignment would follow.
Ceremonies improved.
Language changed.
The underlying problems remained untouched.

In both cases, theory arrived before understanding.

When leaders are under pressure, theory can feel like rescue.
A framework to lean on.
A promise of control.
A quick solution.

But the most effective help rarely arrives as a finished solution.
It arrives as better questions.

How Useful Theories Are Formed

The best theories are not imposed.

They are forged in practice.

They are borrowed, tested, adapted, and combined in response to real conditions.
They evolve as understanding deepens.

A good consultant does not bring a single grand theory.
They bring curiosity.

They listen.
They study context.
They draw from many models.
They test what works and discard what does not.

What emerges is not the theory.
It is a theory of this organisation.

The theories worth keeping tend to share a quiet discipline:

• they can be explained simply
• they can be examined and adjusted
• they reduce complexity rather than add to it
• they help people do meaningful work, better
• they are supporting going from idea to value

Above all, they serve practice.

The Ongoing Contest

Work will always be a contest of theories.

Some are practical.
Some are ideological.
Some are fashionable.
Some endure because they remain useful.

You cannot avoid theory.
You are inside one right now.

The only question worth asking is whether it is serving you.

If a theory sharpens understanding, enables action, helps you go from idea to value, and improves the experience of work — keep it.
Adapt it.
Make it your own.

If it obscures reality, slows progress, or distances people from purpose — let it go.

Theory exists to serve work.
Not the other way around.