“High achievement always takes place
in the framework of high expectation.” — Charles
Kettering
Successful
managers have high expectations, both of themselves and their team. These
expectations are powerful, because they’re the frames in which people fit
reality. We often see what we expect, rather than what is actually occurring.
Social psychologists have referred to this as the
self-fulfilling prophecy or the Pygmalion effect. In Greek
mythology, the sculptor Pygmalion carved a statue of a beautiful woman, fell in
love with the statue and brought it to life by the strength of his perceptions.
Many managers play Pygmalion-like roles in developing people. In addition,
great managers tend to not give up on people, because doing so means giving up
on themselves, their judgment, and their ability to get the best out of others.
Key
Ideas:
·
The Pygmalion Effect explains that people tend to perform up to
the level that others expect of them.
·
This effect explains why our relationships are usually
self-fulfilling prophecies. Once you set expectations for somebody, that person
will tend to live up to that expectation, whether it’s good or bad.
·
The Pygmalion Effect doesn’t justify having unrealistic
expectations of other people. Expecting miracles is a recipe for frustration on
both ends.
·
The paradox of the Pygmalion Effect is that having high
expectations of people will produce better results, but it’s also more likely
you’ll be disappointed. If you’re assessing someone, remember to judge as
objectively as possible.
Illustration
Knowingly
or unknowingly you might also have been the part of Pygmalion effect in your
respective organization. I would like to highlight my manager’s way of getting out
the work done without disturbing the equilibrium. Once my team was in crisis
when one resource went on a urgency leave. Being a small team contingency was a
major problem during crisis situation. As it was a client facing project it was
indeed important to maintain the same level of support. So for those 2 weeks
period my manager handed over to me of handling the additional responsibility of that resource by inculcating the faith of ‘you can do it’. Expectations
were high but it was feasible if dedicated efforts were poured into it. And the
result was apparent because as a team we were able to pull it off a daunting
task without any major hiccups. With this exercise feeling of handling the
project in someone’s absence was built and in later point of time it became an
easy task.
High
expectation kept us motivated to slog hard and finish it spectacularly. However
manager should remain cautious. There is a fine line between realistic high
expectation and unrealistic target. Unrealistic target brings in frustration
and affects productivity.
Things
considered while setting SMART goal
Specific – The first criterion stresses the need for a specific
goal over rather than a more general one.
Measurable – The second criterion stresses the need for concrete
criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of the goal.
Attainable – The third criterion stresses the importance of goals
that are realistic and attainable
Realistic – The third criterion stresses the importance of goals
that are realistic and attainable
Timely – The fifth criterion stresses the importance of grounding
goals within a time frame, giving them a target date.
So
what we had discussed in tower building exercise can be followed closely by
looking to these attributes of smart goals. Team building tower with blind fold
dared to set a goal. Their initial bid was of building the tower with 22 blocks
but they ended with a tower having 24 blocks.
Now
if you combine the aspects of Pygmalion effect and SMART goals together then
the things which are distinctive are as follows:
- As a manager, you have to keep the morale of a team high by
motivating and inculcating the faith of ‘you can do it’.
- At the same time, care has to be taken that expectations set are
realistic and attainable within the given time frame.
Did
I deliver? If yes, the do let me know your feedback.
Thank
you.