Back to week notes!
02 Oct 2020It’s been ages since I’ve done a week note – I got a lot of joy from reflecting on the week that was when I wrote them regularly last year and would like to pick it up again.
I’m easing myself back into writing and this is part of that process.
The Pygmalion Effect
This week was focused on learning and development. I spent a good deal of my time brushing up on the psychology of feedback (it’s the mid-year feedback season where I work –– it felt apropos).
While taking a Coursera course on feedback, I stumbled on the Pygmalion Effect concept in psychology and it answered one of the questions I’ve always had about positive pairing experiences.
This psychological phenomenon describes how the positive expectations we have about another person can impact their performance.
Effectively, our positive beliefs about others influences our behaviour toward them. This impacts their (positive) beliefs about themselves which in turn causes them to behave differently towards us and ultimately reinforces our beliefs about them.
When we hold positive expectations about people it often means they perform better and thus completes this self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hearing about the phenomenon, I immediately recognised how the people I’ve most enjoyed pairing with have implemented this technique consciously or unconsciously. When I’ve paired with these folks I’ve been my most creative and confident.
The four factors identified by psychologists to create this effect were:
- Climate. Create an open, trusting, positive environment. Get to know the person. Practice effective listening. Build the trust. Keep a balanced, positive attitude while problem solving.
- Response Opportunities. If you’re a leader or the more experienced person, try to speak less and listen more. Make opportunities for the other person to speak more. Encourage discussing problems together.
- Input. Give people different and challenging tasks. Provide more varying types of input.
- Feedback. Support and encourage, consistently. Provide specific, positive feedback, but also clarifying and curious.
Currently reading
I’m currently prioritising a list of anti-racism books (there are plenty of helpful resources, and you can also buy them from Black-owned bookstores) and am working my way through Me and White Supremacy and The End of Policing.
Can’t let it go
It feels like autumn is finally here and I love it. I love cold, rainy days where I can curl up with a book and a cup of tea.