#2. My Meeting with Pygmalion and Golem

Two people Ria and Vicky (names changed), fresh out of college, join a software development organization in 2017. Both underwent the same selection process and then the trainings before starting their journey. In 2019, they are part of the same organization but performance levels are way apart. What happened?

Back to 2017, Vicky joined a development team working on big and complex product with various modules. The team had a well-defined processes - documented 'who does what', SDLC, KT, induction plan etc. More so, the team had even defined how and when a person progresses from a novice to an expert level in both functional and technical aspects. Just like any new person joining this team, Vicky was asked to follow the induction plan with specified timelines - overall, a 6 months time-period on the journey: functional knowledge->bug-fixing->small features-> autonomous developer on the product.

On the contrary, Ria joined a team working on a comparatively smaller product team with no defined processes. The team was already struggling to meet the commitments. Ria was given no induction plan to follow. Infact, she was expected to start contributing on team's deliverables with no KT whatsoever from day 1.

Two years later, in 2019, both Vicky and Ria are now part of the same team. Their is a stark difference in their approaches. While Ria is proactive and always looking to pick new and challenging stuff, taking complete ownership. Whereas, Vicky is comfortable working on known areas - work which is similar to the one he has done earlier or the one which is clearly defined in terms of what needs to be done with multiple follow-ups.

While there could be multiple factors at play here leading to different performance levels, one of the factors is what the experts call - the 'Pygmalion Effect'. The performance of an individual is impacted by the expectations that people have from him/her - higher expectation could lead to higher performance - this is known as Pygmalion Effect. This was the case with Ria. Where she was expected to equally contribute from day 1 in the team and she put in all the efforts to ensure she delivers and in turn comes out as a high performing individual.

The opposite is also true where lower expectations negatively impacts the performance of an individual. This is called the 'Golem effect'. This is exactly what happened with Vicky - who was not expected to immediately contribute but learn via following a defined induction plan. He continued to work to meet just those expectations and never challenging self more.

We as leaders need to be aware that are expectations from our teams/team members could impact their performances. This has a profound effect specifically on people just starting their careers.

Have you encountered Pygmalion and Golem effects in your careers? Please share your thoughts.

Pic Credit: My 10 YO

References:

https://hbr.org/2003/01/pygmalion-in-management