Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Good morning,

Happy Friday! Have you ever gotten a new car and then suddenly you see the same model everywhere? Last time I bought a car it seemed like everybody followed my example and got the same one in the same color no less. Of course what really happened is this.

We find what we’re looking for.

This is true in pretty much all areas of our lives and when it comes to managing employees, apparently it’s been scientifically proven, according to an article in yesterday’s Science Daily.

“How leaders view their employees tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” according to Thomas Sy, assistant professor of psychology at UC Riverside and a longtime business leadership consultant. In what he describes as the first study to examine leaders' conceptions of followers, the psychologist found that "if managers view followers positively -- that they are good citizens, industrious, enthusiastic -- they will treat their employees positively. If they think of their employees negatively -- that they are conforming, insubordinate and incompetent -- they will treat them that way," he said. "Manager beliefs about employees impact organizational outcomes."

This study is an interesting reinforcement of an important piece of common sense, that having positive expectations increases the likelihood of positive results.

Let’s stay positive – and have a sunny day!

Clarity

P.S. "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being." Goethe

P.P.S. I always enjoy hearing from you and I thank you for sharing Sunny Notes with others. New readers can Visit This Link to add an email address to receive Sunny Notes directly from me by email each Friday.

Clarity Patton Newhouse
Sunny Media Group, Inc.
313-268-6810
SunnyMediaGroup.com