Are You Giving Your Team A Reputation?
Not long ago, an acquaintance of mine constantly encouraged me and spoke about the impact I had made in his life. He shared with me his appreciation for the positive attitude he observed in me, which, in turn, challenged him to live a more productive and empowered life.
What did his words of affirmation do for me? They had more of an impact on my life than any effect I was able to have on him. I wanted to be even more positive when I was around my friend in order to live up to that great compliment. If you want to give someone hope, give them an expectation they can aspire to reach. The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “Treat a man as he is, he will remain so. Treat a man the way he can be and ought to be, and he will become as he can be and should be.”
Several years ago, Dr. Robert Rosenthal of Harvard University conducted an experiment with the San Francisco School system. A principal in one of the school districts called in three teachers and told them that, because of their excellence in instructing, they were the best teachers in the area. He also told them they would be given special students who were identified as “growth spurters” based on a specialized test they had previously taken. The teachers labeled these students as the “gifted ones.” At the end of the year, these “gifted” students had achieved 20 to 30 percent more academically than their peers.
The principal then called the three teachers back in and told them the truth about the experiment. These teachers were not actually given the most intellectually gifted students in the school system. In fact, the students were picked at random from a group of academically average, run-of-the-mill students. Upon hearing this, the teachers naturally concluded that it was their exceptional teaching skills that had led to such amazing progress among these students. But, the principal had more to divulge. These teachers were simply the first three names drawn from a hat containing the names of all of the teachers in the school district. What was the point of this social experiment? What was the San Francisco school system doing? They were giving their teachers and students an expectation to live up to and seeing what a positive impact it would have on their success rate. And guess what? It had a huge impact! The conclusions of this experiment are astounding. High expectations set the bar for high performance.
Leadership coach, Sir John Whitmore, said, “Whether we coach, advise, counsel, facilitate, lead, manage or mentor, the effectiveness of what we do depends in large measure on our beliefs about human potential. The expressions ‘to get the best out of someone’ and ‘your hidden potential’ imply that more lies within the person waiting to be released. Unless the leader, manager, or coach believes that people possess more capability than they are currently expressing, they will not be able to help them express it. We must think of people in terms of their true potential, not merely in the context of their past performance.”
Many people see potential in others but fail to see it within themselves. For true potential to be realized and believed within an individual, there are three self-damaging obstacles that need to be overcome: self-limiting beliefs, self-sabotaging thoughts, and self-destructive words. These barriers limit one’s capacity to experience hope.
