Pygmalion Effect - Setup To Fail Syndrome

Sometime ago, I wrote about self fulfilling prophecies and what is called the Pygmalion effect in psychological studies. Here I am going to explore a little more on how these expectations lead to a syndrome and set us up to fail.

When an employee fails—or even just performs poorly—managers typically do not blame themselves. The manager typically contends that the employee doesn’t understand the work;

the employee isn’t driven to succeed;

the employee can’t set priorities; or

the employee won’t take direction.

Whatever be the reason, the problem is assumed to be the employee’s fault—and the employee’s responsibility.

But, is it? Sometimes, of course, the answer is yes. Some employees are not up to their assigned tasks and never will be, for lack of knowledge, skill, or simple desire. But sometimes—and we would venture to say often—an employee’s poor performance can be blamed largely on his boss.

Perhaps “blamed” is too strong a word, but it is directionally correct. In fact, our research strongly suggests that bosses—albeit accidentally and usually with the best intentions—are often complicit in an employee’s lack of success.

How? By creating and reinforcing a dynamic that essentially sets up perceived underperformers to fail. If the Pygmalion effect describes the dynamic in which an individual lives up to great expectations, the set-up-to-fail syndrome explains the opposite. It describes a dynamic in which employees perceived to be mediocre or weak performers live down to the low expectations their managers have for them. The result is that they often end up leaving the organization—either of their own volition or not.

Here are the steps:

1. Before the Setup To Fail Syndrome begins, the boss and the staff member are typically engaged in a positive, or at least neutral relationship.

2. The triggering events in the Setup To Fail Syndrome is often minor or surreptitious. The staff member may miss a deadline, lose a client, or submit a subpar report. In other cases, the syndrome's genesis is the boss, who distances himself from the staff member for personal or social reasons unrelated to performance.

3. Reacting to the triggering event, the boss increases his supervision of the staff member, gives more specific instructions, and wrangles longer over course of action.

4. The staff member responds by beginning to suspect a lack of confidence and senses he is not part of the boss's in-group anymore. He starts to withdraw emotionally from the boss and from work. He may also fight to change the boss's image of him, reaching too high or running too fast to be effective.

5. The boss interprets this problem - hoarding, overreaching, or tentativeness as signs that the staff member has poor judgment and weak capabilities. If the staff member does perform well, the boss does not acknowledge it or considers it a lucky 'one off.' He limits the staff member's discretion, withholds social contact, and shows, with increasing openness, his lack of confidence in and frustration with the staff member.

6. The staff member feels boxed in and under-appreciated. He increasingly withdraws from his boss and from work. He may even resort to ignoring instructions, openly disrupting the boss, and occasionally lashing out because of feelings of rejection. In general, he performs his job mechanically and devotes more energy to self-protection. Moreover, he refers all non-routine decisions to the boss or avoids contact with him.

7. The boss feels increasingly frustrated and is now convinced that the staff member cannot perform without intense oversight. He makes this known by his words and deeds, further undermining the staff member's confidence and prompting inaction.

8. When the Setup To Fail Syndrome is in full swing, the boss pressures and controls the staff member during interactions. Otherwise, he avoids contact and gives the staff member routine assignments only. For his part, the staff member shuts down or leaves, either in dismay, frustration, or anger.

Perhaps the most daunting aspect of the set-up-to-fail syndrome is that it is self-fulfilling and self-reinforcing—it is the quintessential vicious circle.

The process is self-fulfilling because the boss’s actions contribute to the very behavior that is expected from weak performers. It is self-reinforcing because the boss’s low expectations, in being fulfilled by his staff members, trigger more of the same behavior on his part, which in turn triggers more of the same behavior on the part of staff members.

And on and on, unintentionally, the relationship spirals downward.

Neuroplasticity and Self-Perception

I often hear people describe themselves, "I am the kind of person who… " or, "I am not a people person” etc. These seemingly off-the-cuff descriptions suggest that they are resigned to not changing their self-perception – regardless if it’s inaccurate or self-defeating.

Let's look at the possibilities of using our experiences to positively shift our self-perception – and retrain our brains. Have you seen the advertisements by lumosity.com for brain exercises? Let me explain.

What we often refer to when we describe or how we perceive in ourselves is based on our own emotional reactions, the way we respond to adversity, and the kinds of moods that we often inhabit. And these are differences that do exist among people. They are part of an umbrella that are called ‘emotional styles’ [Richard J Davidson listed 6 of these in his book, The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How its unique patterns affect the way you think, feel and live—and how you can change them; and in Tara Bennett-Goleman's book, Emotional Alchemy, she identified 10 emotional styles]. It's one of the things that gives a lot of color to our life.

Neuroplasticity – Science Based Medicine

Back in the 1980’s, the Dalai Lama asked a group of world class neuroscientists (I believe it was aired on PBS and sections of it are available on YouTube) if the mind could change the brain. It was a loaded question with deeper meaning. Does the brain direct us, or do we direct the brain? Are we genuinely free? Or are we stuck with the way genetics [Nature?] and early childhood [Nurture?] conditioning wired our brains, with no real potential in our makeup for personal growth and spiritual transformation. The latter was the answer the scientists gave the Dalai Lama. They said the mind cannot change the brain.

However, Science was Wrong.

It's very difficult to admit, I know; being a trained scientist myself – I earned a Ph D degree in Physics. Or, rather, the scientists were wrong at the time, nearly 30 years ago; not the science. Breakthroughs in research have now proved that the brain responds to the mind. Mental practice can take a few high level neurons and build it into a humming network, providing you with the brain power to produce optimal results in whatever you pursue. The term given to this wonderful neurological property is neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity just might be a most powerful asset for the humanity.

Seek Experiences That Positively Reshape Your Brain

Sometimes the variations in our perceptions can be uncomfortable. They can result in suffering. These are all variations we know to be associated with particular brain circuits. The idea of neuroplasticity is simply that the brain changes in response to experience.

It changes in response to our actions.

It changes in our response to our relationships.

It changes in our response to specific training.

These activities will shape the brain, and we can take advantage of neuroplasticity and actually play a more intentional role in shaping our own brains in ways that may be health promoting, and ways that can cultivate well being.

It Even Works Through Imagination

Neuroplasticity even works through imagination to learn, build, and strengthen difficult skill-sets. I am sure, you are well aware of the research with visualization and the basketball training. The results were astounding. There was significant improvement on the group that only visualized; they were almost as good as the guys who actually practiced. The bottom line is that the mind can change the brain; and is widely used in sports coaching. Did you watch the movie (based on real life story), Peaceful Warrior?

You Can Teach Old Dogs New Tricks

The adage that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks does not apply to the brain. The brain is quick to organize around changes we want to affect when we practice consistently. When we do, neuroplasticity makes changes quickly.

• It takes about 10 weeks for mindfulness therapy to change the brain in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
• It takes about 8 weeks of cognitive therapy to change the brain in depression.
• It takes about 8 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction to shift the prefrontal cortical activity from right to left.
• It takes about 10 days of constraint induced therapy to rebuild the motor cortex in stroke victims and restore significant use of an arm that physicians once thought was irrevocably damaged.
• It takes less than one week of mentally practicing a five-finger piano exercise for the motor cortex to expand in support of the new skill.
• It takes just about 2 hours of engaging in a video game to actually structurally build new neural networks in your brain.

Some of the problems, such as stroke damage and obsessive compulsive disorder, were once considered incurable. Yet the power of neuroplasticity is in generating significant progress in these cases and in a relatively short period of time. If neuroplasticity is this effective in extreme situations, how much more can it do to transform a brain wired for stress?

It’s amazing how dynamic these changes can be. That underscores how extraordinarily dynamic our brains are, constantly being shaped this way and that way. Most of the time we are not aware of how our brains are being shaped by the forces around us.

The most recent research indicates that many of these different mechanisms of neuroplasticity persist for the entire lifespan, and one of the most important mechanisms of plasticity is the growth of actual new brain cells. That happens throughout life, until our last day. Those cells play a very important role in plasticity.

It all comes back to practice. Through practice, we can construct a new autopilot that is wired for a calmer, clearer, more fiercely alive intelligence that can do anything we set our minds to.

NOTE: To those of you who are interested in finding more details of what I summarized above of the scientific results, here is a video talk on: Transform Your Mind, Change Your Brain

I must caution that this is a highly scholarly talk but, Prof. Richard J. Davidson will explore recent scientific research on the neuroscience of positive human qualities and how they can be cultivated through contemplative practice. Distinctions among different forms of contemplative practices will be introduced and they will be shown to have different neural and behavioral consequences, as well as important consequences for physical health in both long-term and novice practitioners. New research also shows that meditation-based interventions delivered online can produce behavioral and neural changes. Collectively, this body of research indicates that we can cultivate adaptive neural changes and strengthen positive human qualities through systematic mental practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tRdDqXgsJ0

Finding Opportunity

Is talk of the "crazy economy" getting you down? Are you ready to move on? Any time adversity opportunity rears its ugly head, it's human nature to "duck and cover" and wait out the storm. It’s been 5 years since the economy so drastically changed. Haven’t we all done enough waiting? It’s time to take charge and take action.

There are some bright spots on the horizon of the business world: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2011, the number of new business establishments increased by 29,316. They also report many areas of positive growth are expected in the next 7 years. In 2020, The BLS anticipates the following industries will experience at least a 2.9% annual job growth: community and vocational services; professional, scientific, and technical services; commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental; and construction. And we will only go up from there! Various arms of the healthcare industry are expected to grow by 3.2% most likely driven by the longevity of our aging population. Home health care alone is projected to jump 6.1% annually. Technology and computer design and wood manufacturing both weigh in at 3.9% growth. And here’s the best news of all: management, scientific, and technical consulting are expected to grow at an annual rate of 4.7%. Everyone loves a consultant these days! The increasingly complex global economy has created the demand; exceptionally qualified and skilled professionals provide the supply.

This is direct proof that there is opportunity inside diversity. It’s up to skilled professionals to ask the right questions to uncover those hidden opportunities. Help yourself and those around you look for opportunity within adversity with these 4 powerful questions:

      1. Have new needs presented themselves to you in these adverse times? Are there underlying customer needs to be aware of since things have changed?

      2. What resources are being displaced because of the changes? These could be people, materials, products or services, intellectual property, or technology.

      3. Can you see a way to use resources from your answers to question 2 to fulfill a need you identified in question 1?

      4. Can you apply your success with questions 1, 2, and 3 in additional markets such as new customers or new products?    

Evaluating your answers to these 4 questions can help you and your community climb above the storm and see opportunity instead of only adversity.

Obstacles to Happiness

I was in the middle of writing about Neuroplasticity for this week's posting where I was referencing a discussion between His Holiness - the 14th Dalai Lama, and a group of world class neuroscientists in the 1980s. As part of that researching, I ended up listening to a few more of his other discourses that the Dalai Lama engages on a regular basis with psychologists, psychiatrists, and other scientists. The result is this article where I am attempting to summarize some of his teachings based on my understanding of how to overcome certain obstacles in our journey to happiness.

The main obstacle to happiness is that we fail to study the nature of the mind. The Dalai Lama simply describes wisdom, as an understanding of how the mind works. By becoming more familiar with our mind, we can remove the obstacles to happiness and live a joyful life.

However, it is impossible to know how the mind works without observing it. This practice is known as mindfulness meditation. Through practicing mindfulness – by being able to stay in the moment without judgment – the mind develops strength of attention and the power of focus. By reducing one’s mental hold on a constructed ideal and becoming curious rather than controlling, an individual actually has a chance to “awaken,” or become enlightened, in this lifetime. Just as an athlete’s physical regime allows for peak performance, our mind also can become more agile and stable by developing mental sharpness and intelligence through the focused practice of mindfulness mediation.

The Dalai Lama says that with such a healthy mental attitude, we can find balance within the elements of body and mind. When the basic mental attitude is healthy, the mind is less easily disturbed by outside circumstances. But, when it is weak, the mind will be easily disturbed and, the real question then is, how to build a healthy state of mind.

Sense the Possibility of Joyfulness

As we develop a great mental attitude, it becomes easy to see how swiftly thoughts come and go. One can also get motivated to stay in the here-and-now, rather than the before-and-after. However, it becomes clear over time that the only place to experience peace or happiness is in the present moment, and so, we wish to stay there to make that permanent. But, we soon, discover that it is not possible. The Dalai Lama suggests that we become wise, instead, in the knowledge that joy is experienced exclusively in the moment. In contrast, attachment and anger – the desire to overly control outcomes – are obstacles to happiness. Joyfulness, then, is nothing more than becoming aware of “the wonderful potential being wasted” and “sensing possibility.”

Live a Compassionate Life

Compassion leads to happiness. The way to nurture innate compassion is to develop an awareness of gradual, moment-by-moment change. This changing nature of reality is the truth of impermanence on which the Dalai Lama recommends we meditate. Compassion expressed in the presence of a calm mind opens the door to happiness.

“Compassion leads to a calm mind, while anger destroys a calm mind.” ~ His Holiness - the 14th Dalai Lama

I remember, the story that the Dalai Lama described about his own life experience to give us all hope for ours. Even though he was recognized at the age of 2 as a reincarnated Dalai Lama, he said, he was not really interested in study or practice until he was a teenager. Furthermore, it wasn’t until he was in his late 20s that he had “some experience of feeling the absence of independent existence.” Also, it took several more years of intense meditation and study, before these ideas became “close, intimate, and familiar” to the Dalai Lama.

Even though, each transformation is subjective, the Dalai Lama's life and his slow path to enlightenment should encourage the rest of us that anything can be overcome with practice.

“Something that seems impossible to achieve in 100 years can become very close to you with practice.” ~ His Holiness - the 14th Dalai Lama

Infinite altruism once seemed difficult and very far away, but based on the laws of cause-and-effect and the fact that life is “changing, changing, and changing... all the time," the Dalai Lama emphasizes that compassion for oneself and others actually creates happiness.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~ His Holiness - the 14th Dalai Lama

Confession:  Any omissions or inaccuracies are entirely my own, as per my understanding as of now.

Namaste!