| From TomMcCarthy.com Leadership What Do You Expect?
A study was done several years ago to gauge the impact teacher's expectations have on students. In the study a group of elementary school students were given an aptitude test. Then the students were divided into two groups; students who scored well on the test and students who scored poorly on the test. The students who scored well on the test were put into a class where the teacher was told that they had scored poorly on the test and that they were not very bright students. Based on this information the teacher formed an expectation that the students could not be challenged. The teacher's expectation of the students transferred to them and when they retook a similar aptitude test several weeks later their scores had dropped significantly . Now let's look at the second group of students. The group who had the poor scores on the aptitude test. They were put into a class with a teacher who was told that they were very bright students who had scored very high on the aptitude test. Based on this information the teacher decided to challenge the students. The teacher's positive expectations were transferred to the students and when these students retook a similar aptitude test their scores were significantly higher ! How can we use this in business? By expecting the best from your team members. In coaching sessions that I conduct, the first thing I do is to let people know how special they are. I let them know that I see the greatness in them that even they may not see. Everybody wants to hear in an encouraging way that you believe in them and you have very high expectations for them. Especially if they know that you are committed to helping them realize those expectations. Make it an outstanding day, © Copyright MMIII by TomMcCarthy.com |
