Pygmalion Leadership
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Pygmalion in the Classroom, one of the most controversial publications in the
history of educational research, shows how a teacher’s expectations can motivate
student achievement. This classic study gave prospective teachers a list of
students who had been identified as “high achievers.” The teachers were told to
expect remarkable results from these students, and at the end of the year, the
students did indeed make sharp increases on their IQ test scores.
In reality, these children had been chosen at random, not as a result of any
testing. It was the teachers’ belief in their potential that was responsible for
the extraordinary results. The children were never told they were high
achievers, but this message was delivered subtly and nonverbally through
expectancy behaviors such as facial expressions, gestures, touch, and spatial
relationships.
In much the same way, a leader’s expectations of employees is a key factor in
how well people perform at work. Pygmalion leadership is in operation when staff
excels in response to the manager’s belief that they are capable of success and
expected to do great things. The effect was described by J. Sterling Livingston
in a Harvard Business Review article, Pygmalion in Management: "The way managers
treat their subordinates is subtly influenced by what they expect of them.”
Research validates the power of this "self-fulfilling prophecy" in the
workplace. Tel Aviv University professor, Dov Eden, has demonstrated the
Pygmalion effect in all sorts of work groups, across all sectors and industries.
It almost sounds too simple to be true, but Eden found that if supervisors or
managers hold positive expectations about the performance of those they lead --
for instance believing that they can solve a challenging problem -- performance
improves.
Of course, we’ve all seen instances where the reverse is true – where a
leader’s expectations (as judged by her nonverbal communication) undermines
staff performance and lowers productivity. And some of these negative leadership
behaviors aren’t all that subtle. Take, for example, an email I received
recently: My boss drives us crazy with her mixed messages. She says things like,
"You are always welcome in my office" and “You are all an important part of the
team.” At the same time, her nonverbal communication is constantly showing how
unimportant we are to her. She never makes eye contact, shuffles papers when
others talk, writes email while we answer her questions and generally does not
give her full attention. In fact, we don’t even rate her half attention! Then
she wonders why we feel unappreciated.
Here’s a suggestion from my book, The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and
Science of Body Language at Work: Imagine that you found out that everyone on
your staff had been identified as a high achiever. And imagine that this was a
secret you couldn’t share with anyone on your staff – except through your body
language. How would you use to let people know they were special? (More eye
contact? Appreciative nods? Smiles?) Remember that what you say is motivating
only if your nonverbal signals corroborate it.
Once you get a good idea of what you would do, take one full week and treat
everyone who works for or with you as if they were potential stars. See if at
least some of them don’t start living up to the high expectations your body
language sends.
About the Author
Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. is an executive coach and international keynote
speaker at corporate, government, and association events. She’s the author of
“The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work.” To
contact Carol about speaking or coaching, call 510-526-1727, email CGoman@CKG.com.
Carol’s website is http://www.NonverbalAdvantage.com. You
can also follow Carol on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CGoman.
