Summary

What we think about people has an impact not just on how we personally perceive them, but also on their actual behaviour. There’s power when we believe in someone’s potential.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to episode 106 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore the power of belief in potential.

What we think about people has an impact not just on how we personally perceive them, but also on their actual behaviour. It’s an example of selective attention bias with some expectancy bias thrown in for good measure. If you think that someone is lazy, you will notice everything that they do that appears lazy. You will also ignore anything they do that is energetic and active. So, over time, we just end up thinking that they’re more and more lazy. But, on top of that, we will also modify the way we work with that person. This in turn will lead to them acting in ways that appear even more lazy. We might give them less work to complete, so they end up having more spare time. They might become less engaged, and so seem more lazy. In short, the actions we take can make the other person end up being more lazy.

A recent study demonstrated this impact in a college environment. Through some laboratory and field studies, the researchers discovered that a professor’s mindset about student learning had remarkable positive and negative impacts on those students. For example, when a professor had lower expectations that people could develop and grow, their students demonstrated lower class attendance, reduced engagement in class, less end of semester interest in the subject, they felt more like an impostor in the class, and they even delivered lower grades. So if a professor (who is effectively the leader of learning) thinks you’re not likely to learn, then you, in turn, will actually be less likely to learn. In contrast, if the leader thinks you have potential to learn and grow, you’re much more likely to learn and grow.

In a work context, we often inherit a perspective about a person we lead. “This person is a trouble maker” or “this person doesn’t deliver”. The risk is that we perpetuate and multiply this perspective through our behaviour towards that person.

Here are five ways to challenge our thinking and demonstrate belief in others’ potential:

Reset your expectations. Think about how you see others and give them another chance. Let’s expect that people can improve, grow and develop.
State your positive expectations. It’s what you say that matters. If you think someone is fantastic but never say it, they may completely miss it.
Challenge negative appraisals you might make. Is it more about you than them? What evidence might you have to the contrary?
Challenge negative appraisals others make about people. If you hear others perpetuating negative beliefs about people, appropriately challenge them.
Challenge negative appraisals others make about themselves. Sometimes people perpetuate their own limiting beliefs. Why wouldn’t others believe the person? Use the opportunity to challenge people who consistently run themselves down.

As leaders, what we think about others matters. It shapes not only our perceptions, but also their behaviour. Think about ways you can demonstrate a greater belief in others’ potential.

Well that’s the end of this week’s episode. As always, the reference used is in the show notes.

A quick reminder that our brand new Leading Through Change and Uncertainty online course is now available at Leadership Today On-Demand. It’s video based so you can go at your own pace and work through the content in any order. Just go to Leadership.Today website and follow the On-Demand link to find out more and to sign up for a free 30 day trial. We also offer a 25% discount for groups, so it’s a great option for your team and organisation. Take a look at Leadership Today On-Demand - it’s just like online fitness training for your leadership.

Have a great week, and I look forward to speaking with you again next week.

Reference

Muenks, K., Canning, E. A., LaCosse, J., Green, D. J., Zirkel, S., Garcia, J. A., & Murphy, M. C. (2020). Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their STEM professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagement, and performance in class. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(11), 2119–2144. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000763