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New
Year’s not only gives us yet another chance
to feast and be merry, it also provides an opportunity
to reflect upon and evaluate the past year –
even set goals for the upcoming one. It gives
us a chance to look at where we are in our lives
and determine what we hope to achieve in the months
and year ahead.
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Year
long coaching with Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry:
Click here
for more information
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Now we’re
generally very good at heaping expectations on ourselves.
Whatever the expectation, we tend to focus on what we can
do ourselves. Well, this year, in addition to your own goals,
we challenge you to set expectations for those around you!
Yes, instead of grumbling or complaining about your co-worker,
teenager or spouse (or boss), you can help them reach their
potential just by changing what you believe to be possible
for them. Compelling new research shows our expectations of
others can have an incredible impact on performance.
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Let’s
illustrate this with an example… In a fascinating
study by Albert King, unskilled and unemployed laborers
were trained in specialized mechanical skills. These
individuals were then randomly assigned to two groups
– one designated as "high performers"
and the other as a control. Supervisors were told to
expect unusual improvement in the skills of those in
the "elite" group.
After
a while on the job, the trainees took a battery of tests
to assess the mechanical skills they had learned as
well as their overall job performance. Can you guess
what happened? All of the randomly chosen "high
performers" scored higher than the other trainees.
Supervisors
and peers rated the ‘high performers’ as more
knowledgeable, more productive, better able to learn,
more cooperative and more logical than the non-elite
group - simply because the supervisors expected more
from these individuals. Wow!
Are
there implications of the ‘expectation effect’
for other groups? Of course! In a study described in
the Wall Street Journal, researchers informed elementary
school teachers that one group of kids had scored extraordinarily
well on a test predicting intellectual "blooming"
and would make remarkable academic gains. After a few
months, the "bloomers" - who were chosen at
random - had achieved statistically significant results
as compared to the other students.
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 Not
only did they fare better in academics, but teachers also reported
that
they viewed the "bloomers" as better adjusted, more
affectionate and less in
need of social approval. These students increased both IQ and
EQ
competencies - all because the teachers had higher expectations
of them. Wow
again!
So…
how can we leverage this "expectation effect" in
our lives? Are there people we work or live with who are not
performing as well as you think they can? Are they underutilizing
their talents? Change your own expectation of these individuals
and you can affect their performance!
Clearly,
we need to set realistic and achievable goals for people –
and in fact, this is not about "performance targets",
"quotas" and "developmental goals" in
the classic business sense. It’s deeper than that - it’s
about an honest and passionate belief in someone’s abilities
and core strengths. A belief that is so clearly and strongly
articulated that it will challenge this person’s own
limiting beliefs.
Think
of a peer, employee, or child you can help achieve more in
life by simply expecting more of their abilities and talents
and everyone will win!
Bill Benjamin
CEO
Institute for Health and Human Potential
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