The Possibility of More

We've all heard of "self-fulfilling prophecy," right? The idea that what we think/ believe will happen actually will happen because we believe it will? I came across the message below from Beth Wonson, Leadership Coach and Founder / CEO of Navigating Challenging Dialogues and thought it well worth sharing with you today.

From Beth:

“I recently heard a story from a friend that I will never forget.

Denise is a retired educator and she told me that right out of college, prior to beginning as a teacher, she applied for and was accepted to a special 3-week project. She and other educators were to work with students identified as “exceptional” from a nearby Native American tribe. The educators would be teaching advanced math and science concepts.

She said it was wonderful. The students were amazing, well behaved, and hungry to learn. The educators were excited to work with such an advanced group of worthy children. Everyone did exceptional work and achieved all the expected outcomes. What a feeling!

The Power of Expectation

At the end of the program, it was revealed to the educators that these students were not the exceptional students they had been told. They were actually the students who were struggling the most.

Everyone was shocked to learn that the pilot was not to test the curriculum with advanced students but instead to study how educators’ preconceived notions of who they were teaching could impact teaching and learning.

Wow!

Her story made me wonder, what if we could all show up with the belief that everyone we are interacting with is exceptional and worthy -- at work, in our family, in life?

How would that belief change the outcome for our relationships, conversations, mentoring, management, parenting, and coaching? How could it impact our happiness at work and in our personal lives?”

So I (this is Kris talking now) ask you this week to consider what you are expecting from others. When you have a group of new team members or clients attending orientation, do you go into orientation thinking “these people are going to be the best group of team members / clients yet … I can see potential in them, and that they really care. I’m sure they will be high achievers. ”

Or do you go into orientation thinking “well, 1 out of the 5 may stay, I guess it’s the best we can do and we’ll just have to work with what we have.” When you are struggling with a team member or client, do you typically think “here we go again, this person is never going to work out, probably better figure out how to start documenting and end this soon” or do you think “wow, something must be going on with this person. I know they have huge potential and can do an amazing job, and will get back on track soon.”

What if we always expected that people would succeed instead of anticipating failure or even mediocracy?

The idea of course is one of self-fulfilling prophecy. What you believe becomes true. What if you believed that every single one of your team members and leaders and clients were “A team” people … right from day one. If you have a high potential, “A team” person starting to work with or for you, my guess is you will be checking in with that person frequently, asking how things are going, making sure they have everything they need to do their job. Do you do that with all of your people? Not just managers and leaders, all of your people … you get the idea.

What do you think? Would it make a difference? Could it make a difference? Is it worth a try?

Let's "self-fulfill" ourselves into greatness and see what more is possible!