THESIS: The expectations you hold of people don't just influence how you manage them. They can influence what those people become capable of achieving. Literally.

Back in the 1960s, psychologist Robert Rosenthal explored a fascinating idea: People tend to rise (or fall) to the expectations others have of them.

​In his famous classroom experiment (1968 original article in the Scientific American - only 6 pages), teachers were told certain students had unusually high potential.

Here's the kicker: Those students were picked completely at random!

Yet some went on to show greater improvement.

Why? The researchers suggested that teachers' expectations changed how they treated those students, which in turn influenced how the students performed.

Their expectations may have helped create the very results they expected.

Now think about your team.

There's the employee you trust implicitly. You give them challenging assignments, room to make mistakes, and the benefit of the doubt.

Then there's the employee you've quietly decided isn't quite capable.

You double-check their work. You hesitate to delegate. You explain things twice. You give them fewer opportunities to stretch.

And when they inevitably fail to impress you, you feel vindicated.

See? I knew they weren't ready.

But here's the uncomfortable question:

Are you observing their limitations, or are you helping create them?

Of course, some people genuinely lack the skills, judgment, or motivation required for a role. Expectations aren't magic.

But before you conclude that someone has reached their ceiling, consider whether you've actually given them the opportunity, trust, and support to discover where that ceiling is.

Because people have a funny way of becoming what we expect of them.

And as a leader, that's an enormous responsibility.

-Andrew

P.S. You'd better believe this applies to you, too. Whose expectations have you accepted as the ceiling of your own potential?
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THE BEST LEADERS HAVE COACHES.

Presidents have advisors. Olympic athletes have coaches. The most successful business leaders often have entire teams of people helping them think, grow, and perform at their best.

Great leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about having the right people in your corner.

Want some support? Reply to this email. I'm happy to make time for an open conversation about whatever leadership challenges you're navigating.

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