Expect The Best Of Your People

Psychology professor Robert Rosenthal studied and documented the "teacher-expectancy effect" referring to situations in which students perform better simply because they are expected to do so. We call this the Rosenthal effect or the Pygmalion effect (after G.B. Shaw's play Pygmalion). It requires a student to internalise the expectations of their superiors. Students with poor expectations internalise their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly. As parents, teachers and managers this is an awesome responsibility. Expect the best from your people and give them a fine reputation to live up to.