Pygmalion Effect & Leadership

In my field, there's something that's called the Pygmalion effect. Now, this effect doesn't generalize in all situations and in all contexts, but it is really fascinating and highlights how critical it is for us to see the best in other people, which has really profound implications for leadership.
Early Pygmalion effect studies would tell teachers, oh, hey, over here you got your high potential group of students, and over here, these students are fine. Except in reality, the high potential students and these students are fine, were actually on average the same in their pre-experiment testing. But at the end of the study, at the end of the experiment, the students who were in the high potential group, in fact, performed better than those who were fine. Reason being, when we believe in somebody's greatness, we act differently toward them, and that leads to them to act differently as well, because they begin to believe in themselves.
The Pygmalion effect, again, does not generalize in all contexts, but serves as a powerful reminder of how you as a leader shape your subordinates, your direct reports, experiences, and behavior in the workplace simply by choosing to believe in them, and give them resources and challenges accordingly.
#leadership #efficacy #talent