“People become what you expect of them; and what you expect of others is linked to personal beliefs you hold for self.”

(Second of the two part article)

In the first part of this article we had discussed the influence “positive expectations” has on performance of an associate. The theme of this article is: what are the ingredients for developing the attitude of “positive expectations” in managers?

Managers who have “positive expectations” of subordinates are the ones who have great self confidence in their ability to select, train, and develop talent in others. What the managers believe about themselves subtly influences what they expect from the associates (Pygmalion in Management, J Sterling Livingston).

The “Sweeney Miracle”

James Sweeney, Professor of Management and Psychiatry was in-charge of the Bio-medical computer centre at the Tulane University, US. Professor Sweeney believed that he could teach a poorly educated person how to be a computer operator. To prove his conviction, Sweeney selected George Johnson, a former hospital porter and who was now working as a janitor at the computer centre as his understudy.  IQ test taken by George Johnson had indicated that he can’t even type let alone become a computer operator.

George completed his janitorial duties in the morning and in the afternoon learnt how to operate and program computers. Finally George not only successfully learnt how to operate computers but also became in charge of the main computer room and was responsible for training new employees to program & operate the computers.

Professor Sweeney’s expectations were based on his own ability and not on the learning credentials of George Johnson (Pygmalion in Management, J Sterling Livingston). Over the years several such experiments have been conducted at workplace to validate the theory. If you look at the top performers in an organization you would find a disproportionate number belong to teams where there is demonstrable leadership. It is not a coincidence that high performance of associates and leadership of managers go hand in hand.

Application

Managers don’t gain self confidence about their abilities just by having the title. They have to have the knowledge and competencies about the task they are supervising.  In the early years, managers’ expectations have the most significant influence on the associate’s performance. As an individual matures in his role his self image hardens and he begins to see himself as his career record shows. In the field of sales, it is a popular belief that the sales performance of an individual in the first six months becomes a water mark for rest of the career; give or take 10%.

Similarly teachers have a significant influence on the performance of the students in the formative years.

These findings should give managers a food for thought in terms of responsibility they carry on their shoulders. Approximately 70% of the Indian population is under the age of 35. Companies can provide the new employees with the right environment as future business leaders will emerge from this class. The managers who handle the new employees should know how to develop new talent in addition to having a successful personal track record. Further, one of the yard sticks in their performance evaluation of managers should be success in developing new people.  The big advantage managers have is that during the early years people are most open to new learning thus making strong self image a bit easier.

The secret behind Super 30’s success-reverse engineered

(First of the two part series)

According to the latest statistics of the Joint IIT exam, only 1 out of 45 students, finally made it to the engineering institution which participate in the process! Perhaps it is the toughest entrance exam.

On the other hand, Anand who runs “Ramanujam School of Mathematics” in Bihar has created history by sending 212 students (out of 240) to the IITs since 2003. Super 30 (www.super30.org/as) as this program is called has caught every ones attention. What makes these results even more remarkable is the fact that all the students come from financially poor families-the school bears the entire cost for these  students.

The secret formula for this spectacular achievement has several ingredients: the laser sharp purpose the students bring to the program, the learning methodology, the hard work by one and all and so on.

All of the above reasons may not explain the achievements of this group entirely. The question is what is  the X factor which brings out the best in these students? Can management science explain the marvel?

The “Pygmalion Effect”

The class of Super 30, is selected after very careful screening. According to the staff these 30 students  are the most deserving among the thousands who apply. The group is given utmost attention as they are the torch bearers of the proud legacy of the program. They are best of the best. The expectation of every student and people around them is that the students are good enough to make it to the IIT. The results are a foregone conclusion (other ingredients are very critical as well).  The "positive expectation" is the X factor in the entire process it gels the efforts of everyone associated with the program-students as well as teachers.

Research has shown that children who are expected to succeed by their teachers are more likely to succeed; similarly employees who are expected to succeed by their managers are more likely to perform well (Reference: Pygmalion in Management by J Sterling Livingston- HBR Classic). This positive expectation is called The Pygmalion effect also known as self-fulfilling prophecy. This concept has application in educating students, managing teams, raising children, in treating patients, hiring new employees and in becoming self aware. By the same token the reverse is also true, lower expectations invariably results in poor performance.

The origins of this theory lies in the Greek mythology, Pygmalion a sculptor, carved a statue of a women and fell in love with it. His love for the statue was so intense that the statue came alive. Subsequently he married her and  raised a family.  

Application in real life

Managers, educators, care givers and parents wield the power of attention, training, teaching and encouragement. When we have low expectations of someone it gets quickly communicated through our actions. Just consider how much attention, praise and time we shower on our top performers and compare it with those who are not doing as well. If science is to be believed it may be worth the effort to give equal attention to those who you think are mediocre and the results may change your paradigm (patience will be required). The by-product of this shift may be better team performance, lower attrition and improved profits.

What do you think, have you seen self-fulfilling prophecy in action?