by Jan Bolick
In 2021, Hubert Davis took over as coach of the Carolina basketball team. He had very large shoes to fill – those of Hall of Fame coaches Dean Smith and Roy Williams. Fans were supportive of the announcement and were reinforced by a few early wins. Then came some losses. Big ones. Fans complained that Coach Davis must not be ready. They said there didn’t seem to be a game plan on the court. There was no energy or passion on the court or bench. Some even called for him to be replaced.
Others stood up for Davis, saying he wasn’t the one who recruited these players and that he should be given a chance to recruit his own. But Davis never complained about his players. He always talked about how good they were. As losses continued to rack up, Davis kept up his positive talk. Fans criticized him for overselling and wrote off the season, feeling certain that there would be no tournament time.
But they were wrong.
Carolina got better and after having been trounced by Duke at home earlier in the season, they did the unthinkable and the impossible. Cameron Indoor Stadium was loud as always. It was packed with students, celebrities and former players – all gathered for the final home game of the season, during which they all expected Duke would beat Carolina for the second time in the season. After that, they would celebrate the retirement of their dearly beloved Coach K, who had been with them for 42 years. The party planners had not considered any outcome other than a Duke victory.
Carolina spoiled it all by trouncing Duke. The stadium was silent with disbelief and disappointment.
A few weeks later, both teams were playing in the NCAA tournament and for the first time ever in their history, Duke and Carolina met in the Semi-Finals of the Final Four in New Orleans. Duke would be out for revenge and it would be impossible for Carolina to win. Carolina won!
In all the post-game interviews, players said that Coach Davis had believed in them. He told them they could do it. He had done it from the very beginning. On the first day of practice, when each player opened his locker, he found a picture of the Super Dome affixed to the inside.
Coach Davis had believed in them from the beginning. He had high expectations and had inspired them with a clear vision.
All of this reminded me of the very powerful Pygmalion in Management, which has inspired me for years.
Read more about it below.
High Expectations from Pygmalion
by Jan Bolick in 2010
What’s the origin of our Quote of the Week: Expect A Lot?
Early in my management career, I was asked to read a Harvard Business Review article in preparation for an annual manager’s meeting. The article, written by J. Sterling Livingston, was entitled Pygmalion in Management. I was actually frustrated by the request. Had way too much to do. But the day before the meeting, I hurriedly read through the ten page article. The discussion about it at the meeting was somewhat interesting. But I was eager to get out of that meeting room. Antsy to get back to making sales goals.
Over the next 20 years or so, I can’t tell you how many times – as a manager, as a coach, as a parent, as a person – I’ve drawn from and shared the wisdom presented by that article. Wisdom that has empowered many managers to build morale and productivity on their teams – and bring better results to their organizations.
The premise of the article is simple: “a manager’s expectations are the key to a subordinate’s performance and development”. We all know that, right?
What stuck with me and held value over so many years though are the examples he provides. And the realization of how easy it is to convey low expectations unintentionally. And how hard but important it is to realize and correct when it’s being done. Important for organizational success. Potentially transformational for the individual. All of this “power” in the hands of the manager. All of this, plus a little lesson in Greek mythology from Pygmalion in Management.
The lesson in Greek mythology? Pygmalion was a sculptor who carved a statue of a beautiful woman. He fell in love with the statue, named Galatea, and wished that she was real. Venus granted his wish. So “the notion that one person can transform another is the basis for this article.”
Livingston also points to an example from the play, Pygmalion (adapted version called My Fair Lady), which was written by George Bernard Shaw. Some of you may remember Eliza Doolittle and some of her many marvelous lines, like, “The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.”
Livingston provides detail from a number of studies, like one from the early 1960’s at Metropolitan Life. The district manager divided agents into three groups. He assigned the six best agents to work with his best assistant manager. The next six best agents were assigned to work with the next best manager. The six lowest performing agents were assigned to the lowest performing manager.
He asked the “superstaff” to bring in 2/3 of the volume achieved by the entire agency in the prior year. They exceeded expectations.
Performance by the lowest unit declined AND resignations increased.
Interestingly, the middle group performed better than expected because the assigned manager refused to believe that she and the agents on her team were less capable. In conversations with these agents, she told them they had greater potential that the “super” agents and that all they lacked was experience. She challenged them and coached them and their productivity increased by a higher percentage than that of the superstaff. (More detail on page 4 of HBR article)
When I read this example and several others, I was reminded of the reading groups that were assigned in grade school. And I do remember that most of us did seem to read at the “expected” level. And I remember the boost that suddenly took place when a pupil was moved up a level. And that those in the lower level didn’t even seem to try.
Do you know of any such examples?
Livingston emphasized though that having high expectations is NOT just about positive thinking. The expectations must be “realistic and achievable”. A perceived chance of 50% is ideal. If TOO much is expected, expecting a lot can backfire and result in reduced results or no results at all. (More detail in Impossible Dreams section on page 6 of HBR article).
Also of critical importance is in Livingston’s “Retrospective Commentary” in which he says: “To be a Pygmalion, you must acquire the industry knowledge and job skills required to be confident of your high expectations and to make them credible to your employees.”
As managers – we shape expectations, morale, productivity, performance and job satisfaction – even entire careers. In doing all of this, we can have a negative impact. Or a positive one. It can even be transformational.
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