The Pygmalion Effect

Throughout my life I have always heard of the saying “Expectations leads to disappointments”. But let’s be realistic we are humans; we do expect at least a bit from the other person, whether its an act of kindness, or to perform well at any task.

This is where the Pygmalion Effect comes into picture, a psychological phenomenon wherein high expectations leads to improved performance in a given area.

Few years back I came across a Greek myth, where a sculptor named Pygmalion, fell in love with a statue he had carved of a beautiful woman. Unable to love a human, he appealed to Aphrodite, the goddess of love who then brought the statue to life. This made me think that if you believe strongly in something, then anything is possible.

I happened to realize this on my occasions in my life. During my internship days, I was given a project to do by the then CFO who tore it into bits & pieces in front of me. Heartbroken & teary eyed I began working on it day and night again and delivered a successful one. Now when I look back it makes me laugh cause if the CFO didn’t have any expectations from me and most importantly if I didn’t have the self-confidence, I would have never learnt. This truly helped me many years later when I was put into a pretty diverse team where people where older than me in age however less experience but the belief lead to us achieving more than expected.

Hence, the Pygmalion effect is a powerful secret weapon. Who wouldn’t want to help their children get smarter, help employees and leaders be more competent, and generally push others to do well? That’s possible if we raise our standards and see others in the best possible light. It is not necessary to actively attempt to intervene. Without even realizing it, we can nudge others towards success.