How a manager or coach could use the process of self-fulfilling prophecy to enhance an individual’s performance.
In a self-fulfilling prophecy, an individual’s expectations about another person or entity eventually result in the other person or entity acting in ways that confirm the expectations, which is a process through which an initially false expectation leads to its confirmation (Jussim, 2023). In other words, what we think and assume about an action or predict behavior about an individual or a situation that will happen tends to happen. This can have positive and negative effects depending on the expectationswe have from someone.
Great leaders are almost mythical creatures. They’re often seen as larger than life, with perfect hair and a sparkling personality. When we think of great leaders, we might not immediately think of ‘real person’, and we may think leaders are not supposed to make mistakes; they must make the right decisions to lead their team in business and motivate team members to give their best.
I was not unaware of the term Self-fulfilling prophecy until I learned about it recently, even though I have been using it all my career as a leader. I have been part of the hiring team at almost all my previous workplaces, where I had a say in the final decision of hiring or not hiring someone. I was also responsible to training, onboarding and help team members to achieve new heights in their careers within the organization. However, when an individual is hired in the organization, their actions and behavior set certain exceptions about them.
I had the process of using self-fulfilling prophecy to improve the performance of my team members and even my own performance in multiple situations. I would like to shade lights on some of my personal stories of being a leader in my career from last 6 years.
One example of how I applied self-fulfilling prophecy to boost performance was when I was leading a team of Customer Success Managers at eZee Technosys pvt ltd., it is an India based software company that creates softwares for the hospitality industry, at that time in year 2018, I was leading a team of 35 Customer Success Managers and we were first point of contact for the customers as well as we were acting as a bridge between Customers and our Product Team. Our team was involved to get our customers to migrate from existing software to our newly launched product that none of us had experience with before hand. Instead of focusing on the challenges and risks, I set high but realistic goals for myself and my team, and communicated them clearly and confidently. I also expressed my trust and confidence in their abilities and potential, and encouraged them to learn from each other and from external-internal resources. I provided indepth training and constructive feedback and recognition along the way, and celebrated every milestone and achievement. By doing so, I created a positive and supportive environment where my team members felt motivated, empowered and capable of overcoming any obstacle. As a result, we delivered the results on time, and migrated the pilot batch of 1000 customers with high quality of training and onboarding experience, resulting in getting positive feedback of average 9.2 rating out of 10 from them.
Another example was in my previous work place SwiftSku Inc. which is a Y-Combinator backed startup who sells softwares for Convinence stores and gas stations. This incident happened in 2021 when I was leading their Sales team and I was coaching a new hire struggling with low self-esteem and confidence and was on verge of getting fired. He had skillset and knowledge to do his job properly, but he usually doubted himself and lacked the drive to speak up in meetings. I noticed this behavior and decided to intervene. I started by giving him specific and sincere praise for his work and contributions in the presence of upper management and his other team members and highlighting his strengths and areas of improvement. He grew to be greater engaged, proactive, and productive in his work as a result, and went on to come to be one of the line-manager to take on some of my responsibilities in my absence and get the work done. I prompted and supported him to step out of his comfort area and attempt new things, however made sure I was constantly on hand to guide and support him when he wanted it the most. This helped him to become more confident and enhance his self-efficacy which made him feel valued and revered as a group member.
We can define and shortlist few approaches that have worked well for me.
Provide the Framework:
As a leader it is important to arm your Team and each individual with the vision and expectations you have from them. It is always highly recommended to explain them their KPIs (why they matter and how they connect to their skills and the duties and work they would be doing), and qualitative and quantitative data you have about their past performances, setting up a baseline around your goals and understanding them is the base for any team to function on optimum level.
Transparency:
Share your roadmap (and the process behind it) with the team! When they see the different options you have evaluated (and why you chose or discarded them based on X, Y, or Z), they will be much more clear and feel aligned with your thought process and, they will be more willing to suggest new ideas to you (Koh, 2018).
Regular Feedback:
Give regular feedback to the team or individual thought on monthly bases so that they are aware of their progress and their shortcomings, where they are doing good, and which areas need improvements. It builds confidence in the individuals to excel in their assigned duties and always come back to the manager for any questions or clarity.
Openness:
Create an environment of openness in the team and organization to give open access to everyone, make sure that they are aware of how to reach out to you. They should be aware of different mode of communication with everyone.
I believe that this process is a powerful tool that can help leaders influence the behavior and outcomes of themselves and others in a positive way. By setting high expectations, expressing confidence, providing feedback, recognition and support, leaders can create a culture of excellence and achievement that benefits everyone involved.
References:
Jussim, L. (2023, June 6). Self-fulfilling prophecy | Definition & Examples. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/self-fulfilling-prophecy
Koh, M. (2018, May 17). How do you empower your whole team or company to contribute product ideas? Medium. https://medium.com/the-product-co-op/how-do-you-empower-your-whole-team-or-company-to-contribute-product-ideas-3925346dcbb0
