The Pygmalion Effect on Human Communications

According to legend, Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a female statue he had carved. His wish for the statue to come to life came true. In human resources management, the Pygmalion Effect occurs when a manager's treatment of an employee is influenced by his expectations of the employee. The Pygmalion Effect produces positive and negative behavior.


Expectations
The Pygmalion Effect is all about the power of expectations and how they affect behavior. The way that managers or supervisors communicate expectations plays an important role in the effect. In the majority of companies, expectations cascade from top management down, and every manager has expectations of the team he leads. Managers usually communicate these expectations directly to employees in terms of deadlines and quotas to fill, but sometimes they unconsciously communicate expectations about less concrete actions, and this can affect employees positively or negatively, depending on how the employee reads the manager's "message."

Communication
There are four ways a manager communicates expectations: climate, feedback, input and output. If a manager strongly communicates that an employee is capable of success and that success is expected, then that is what is likely to happen. However, if the manager states the expectation of success but gives out subtle signals that he doesn't expect that the employee is capable of it, then the employee probably won't succeed. Sometimes the signal may be the manager's failure to praise one employee as frequently as others. This sets up the unpraised person to fail.

The Manager as Pygmalion
Skilled managers who use the Pygmalion Effect successfully can reinforce employees' self-esteem, increase productivity and help staff develop talents and abilities. Managers are recommended to communicate a commitment to success that staff totally believe in. In addition, a manager should regularly ask for input from employees as this creates a feeling of confidence: Employees feel the manager values their ideas and that he trusts them to execute the ideas. Managers also must empower through delegation, without micromanaging the task, and most of all communicate intentionally.

Training
Companies can purchase training programs and videos that teach managers at any level how to use the Pygmalion Effect positively. Courses show managers how expectations create self-fulfilling prophecies. Managers also are encouraged to raise their own expectations. Role play demonstrates the positive effect this has on staff behavior. A manager also needs to believe in his ability to influence other people and lead them to success.