How to Change the Results Before You Even Begin

(2 minute read time)

I came back from vacation and my boss told me that while I was gone, a new team member had been assigned to me.  

Wait.  What?? I didn’t get to select my own team member?

That’s.  Not. Good.  

I was expecting it to be horrible.  I was sure it was probably some troubled, under-performing employee.  Someone else’s headache had just been assigned to me.

Great.  Just great.  

And actually, it turned out it was great.  How, you ask?

Before I met my new employee, I took time to notice my negative perspective and I decided I did not like it.  So, I made some different decisions:

I decided it wasn’t a problem that I did not get to select her myself.  

I decided she deserved a fair shake and I decided that I was going to give that to her.

I decided it was possible I was wrong about her and that it all could work out well.     

Ultimately, I changed my expectations.  

Our expectations shape our reality.  Science proves it.

Back in 1963, a study was done where two groups of students were given mice and asked to run them through a maze.  Some groups were told they had “maze bright” mice that were genetically bred for superior maze solving. The other groups were told they had “maze dull” mice, ones that were not bred specifically for the task.

There actually was no difference between the mice, they were all standard lab rats.  But guess what happened?

The “maze bright” mice performed far better.  Why?

It’s called The Expectancy Effect and, for better or for worse, it changes outcomes.

How do you suppose it would have gone with my new employee if I had not decided to change my expectations?  I probably would have showed up with some resentment and animosity. She probably would have responded negatively to my negativity. And I would have been able to say “See, I knew it!”.

The brain likes to be right.  It’s more efficient that way. Let’s help it to be right about the right things.   

Expectations can be sneaky.  They just feel like an inevitable reality sometimes.  I can help you get rid of those unhelpful ones, just click here to schedule a free, 30-minute discovery session.