Create Super Employees – How Your Expectations Affect Their Performance

Let’s start this one with some ironic examples…

1. Modest expectations

Being in a leading position means having certain expectations regarding to the people who work for you. You should not set these expectations too high since you are more likely to be disappointed if the stated expectations are not met. Adapting your expectations to a modest level helps to prevent disappointment. It also helps to avoid a high
performing team.

2. Underperformers support you as a leader

If the people who work for you are technically better or more skilled than yourself, you end up in a position you probably do not want to be in. There is nothing worse than seeing your surrounding potentially performing better than you. That’s why you want to support underperforming people. They are great for your self-esteem as a person,manager or leader. Supporting underperforming is an insanely effective method to apply if you need to strengthen your own position. Since your employees are underperformers, you obviously appear to perform better next to them. Just make sure to maintain their performance level slightly below yours over time. Do not let them catch up with your level of ability. Being able to constantly put yourself in the best light is crucial as a manager, especially if you suffer from an inferiority complex.

That should be enough ironic input to demonstrate what you shouldn’t do as a manager/leader. Now let’s dive into the detailed knowledge part…

How to create super employees

Higher expexpectations generally result in better performances. Lower expectations affect the performance in a negative way. This is due to a psychological phenomenon called Pygmalion effect. Based on that effect, we want to provide the key aspects you need to take care of if you want to create and support your own elite troop.

• Your expectations have a significant influence on the behaviour and the actual performance of your employees. Why? It’s simple, if you perceive your employees as high performing people with greater potential, then you are likely to act differently which affects their performance again. Possible influences are anything from body language to working methods. Are you positive, uplifting and have amazing plans for your working group? Or do you think your employees are a group of jerks who aren’t capable? Once the expectations are set from your side, your employees try to meet them even if it’s subconsciously. It is totally up to you to steer the people you are working with.

• Having high standards and expectations yourself comes along with a better performance which is crucial if you want to build comparable expectations within your employees. Usually the best performing managers are able to create the highest expectations within their employees which also ends up in a better performance. This is also a key factor for being an outstanding leaders in general. You have to be able to get your people excited about meeting their own expectations.

Sounds good, but what the hell shall I do now?

1. Raise your bar
If you don’t think so, raise the bar, raise your personal standards and you will reach thenext level of even higher expectations and outstanding performances. It is substantial to be able to fulfill your own expectations. Never ask your employees to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself.

2. Set high expectations
As a competent and credible person/manager/leader you are finally in the position to build high expectations within your employees. Get your expectations of them in the right place, expect them to do great things and to perform on an outstanding level. Why? Just because it’s the standard you always set for your group and every single member of this great performing super troop is able and capable of meeting these standards. That’s the feeling you want your employees to have, being appreciated as an outstanding part of the team.

3. Your super troop
Last but not least, treat your employees like they already were a super troop of great working people. Treat them like the best of the best and only expect the best of them and their work. If the people who work for you get the feeling that you have faith and trust in their abilities they will feel incredibly motivated. It gets them excited to fulfill the expectations that were set before and more importantly, it gets people excited to even exceed these expectations. This is a super powerful upwards spiral of great achievement.

More useful input:

If you want to dive even deeper and want to know more about the Pygmalion effect, we recommend this article on the DiscoverMagazine.

This post originally appeared on Businessirony.com

(23)