The Truth About Managing People: Proven Insights to Get the Best from Your Team, Fourth Edition

Truth 28. You Get What You Expect

Let me tell you about 105 Israeli soldiers who were participating in a combat command course. The four instructors in this course were told that one-third of the specific incoming trainees had high potential, one-third had normal potential, and the potential of the rest was unknown. In reality, the trainees were randomly assigned into these categories by researchers conducting the study. In spite of the fact that the three groups should have performed about equally, since they were randomly placed, those trainees whose instructors were told had high potential scored significantly higher on objective achievement tests, exhibited more positive attitudes, and held their leaders in higher regard than did the others. ...