We have a psychological link in Performance Management called Pygmalion Effect, which says that the “Higher Expectation leads to Improved Performance” that’s why as HR professional, we always say dream big, expect more, be ambitious while setting our Goals.
“When we expect certain behaviors of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behavior more likely to occur.” (Rosenthal and Babad, 1985)
The way leaders/ managers treat their team largely determine their performance and career progress, which is what Leader expect from their subordinates. Managers should have ability to create high performance expectations that a subordinate could fulfil and to show the trust that they can fulfil the expectations.Managers not able to develop similar High expectation fails and as a consequence, the productivity of team suffers.In research studies, it is found that Subordinates or Team more often found to do what they believe they are expected to do.
Also read: Vaibhav Dalal joins nference as Sr. Director Human Resources (India HR Leader)
PRACTICAL TIPS:
- Our expectations can influence how we treat people, which can influence their own expectations of themselves.
- We treat people differently to those with high expectations as Low expectations can mean.
- A self-fulfilling forecast is created. Low expectations create a negative environment that creates low performance. Whilst high expectations create a positive and encouraging environment that creates high performance.
HR WAY FORWARD: So as Leader / Manager what you can do to manage the Pygmalion Effect at work.
Herewith listed few ways to manage the Pygmalion Effect at your Workplace:
Right person at the right place on the right time: Hiring and placing a right person in a role where they can perform now or can reasonably work up in the future will give the employee something to progress towards. Hiring a person in a role that is above or below their ability will frustrate them and limit their potential to perform. Over qualified or Over capable person gets frustrated as they have extra capability than the role where Below level person gets frustrated as they never able to meet the expectation of work. Time plays even the important role as the position not filled on time creates Loss of Work which may lead less productivity, loss of work or Loss of Sales so we should have follow exact Turn Around time to close the position which may vary position to position as per Business Requirement hence we should hire the Right Person for Right Place and Right Time.
Employee training: Give the employees training with the aim of improving his/ her skills instead of pointing out his/her mistakes. Let Employees work on projects to be able to improve their skills continuously. Training plays a crucial role of organisational success and development which fruitful for both the employer & employees. Employees become more productive & efficient if they are trained well.
As a Leader/ Manager, we also have responsibility to give understanding of our Business to team and what is our contribution in it as team or individual. Business expectation should be clear in each & every mind in the organisation which actually reduce the communication gaps & conflict where this supports to the Interpersonal relations, collaborative approach, stakeholder handling and to achieve better outcome in each and every aspect of Business.
Four Basic Grounds are covered to provide training:
- Induction & Orientation: New candidates who join an organization are given training. This training familiarizes them with the organizational mission, vision, rules and regulations and the working conditions.
- Regular Training: These trainings are provided to the existing employees to refresh and enhance their knowledge, skills & attitude.
- Change Management: Organisational development changes could be through internal or external environment of Business which is part of strategic decision. When we do change in process, machinery, technology or any other updations / amendments so we will have to train the employees to familiar with that changes and how they will have to work on it.
- Individual Development Plan: Development of an Individual for future role or cope up with future business or individual requirement which will requires to provide the expected competencies though; Job Rotation, Training, Learning by experiencing, academic and other development methods. Even in Succession Planning, Training provided to prepare an employee for Higher level Role & responsibilities when promotion and Career Growth in an organisation take place.
Set the right goals: It is important to set goals that are realistic and attainable. An important aspect to note here is to give employees STRETCH goals that are beyond their current achievements but are reasonably achievable. If the expectations are too high, the employee is deemed to fail. If too low, then you are allowing them to perform below their ability. Goals of the employees also dependent on the kind of Department they are serving. For Example; the Goals of Sales Department should be Ambitious where Account department will be conservative to assess the Risk and Control the same with financial parameters.
Have clear expectations: As Managers / Leaders, it is very essential to define clearly the results that you are expecting from your subordinates. The same needs to be communicated well to them in order to avoid any misunderstandings. This helps the subordinate to work on important goals and not spend time on non-important activities. As a Leader/ Manager, we also have responsibility to give understanding of our Business to team and what is our contribution in it as team or individual. Business expectation should be clear in each & every mind in the organisation which actually reduce the communication gaps & conflict where this supports to the Interpersonal relations, collaborative approach, stakeholder handling and to achieve better outcome in each and every aspect of Business.
Continual and constructive feedback: Have frequent Interactions with your employees in a positive manner. Talk to them about their performance, giving both praise as well as constructive feedback. If an employee is facing problem, provide additional guidance, mentoring or training to help overcome the problem. Instead, if you reprimand them, they will have zero motivation to try harder. However, with constructive feedback and encouragement the chances of improving their performance are higher. Dialogue between Line Manager & employees should start with Goal Setting and this conversation keep on happening throughout the year on Monthly / Quarterly / Six monthly basis in way of Feedback.
Pygmalion Effect drive through positivity, our belief &action towards others influences and impact their belief about themselves which reinforce their action result to improved performance.
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