In the last edition, I revealed definitive research that should forever alter your approach regarding professional negotiations…from one of an aggressive–win/lose strategy, to one of positive expectation. If you haven’t read it yet, please read it now…My hope is that it will change your view forever regarding what makes for a successful negotiation process.
How do you decide who will succeed and who will fail? Despite the fact that some of you are convinced that you can reliably predict who will succeed and who will fail, research suggests that it might actually be your expectations that are producing the results.
The Rosenthal Effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectations placed on people, the better they perform. Since 1968, a number of experiments have proven that the reality of performance can be greatly influenced by the preconceived expectations of others.
In the famous first study, Robert Rosenthal told a number of teachers that they had assessed all of the incoming 5th graders with a special new instrument that was designed to identify which children were poised to experience an intellectual “growth spurt” in the upcoming academic year; they were “high potential” children. In reality, these children were chosen at random, and there was nothing special about them at all.
By the end of the year, the majority of that group had, indeed, made the greatest strides among all the children, despite the fact that there was nothing different about those children, outside of having the highest expectations placed on them.
What did the teachers do differently with these students? They tended to downplay obstacles, they showed more positive patience and, most importantly, they conveyed a strong confidence in their belief that these children would do well. The children apparently picked up on this positive expectation and lived up to the challenge of achievement.
The Rosenthal Effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy. In this respect, people with poor expectations internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly.
We all are guilty of doing this. We make snap judgments about people early on in our experiences with them. When we do this, we unconsciously set the stage for failure.
This once again proves a simple, yet eternal principle: If you want to bring out the best in people, expect the best; expect that they CAN do it…show patience, positive confidence, and a greater number of people WILL succeed.
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.
