Sometimes we expect too little of people and then we find that our predictions prove to be true. George W. Bush’s phrase, “The soft bigotry of low expectations,” comes to mind.
People will rise to the level of your expectations for them and if you free them to use their creative genius, their capacity to adapt and overcome is enormous. General Patton said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” I have found this to be true. In fact, I found it to be true this past week.
Last Wednesday, my HOA sent me a notice that I was being fined. The offense? My trash can was still out at 2:23 PM the day after the trash was collected. My son, whose only major chore is to take out the trash, failed to take it in again and now I was $30 poorer.
I called him over, showed him the notice of the fine, and asked him how He was going to pay for it. His eyes got wide like saucers. In his 12-year old world, he isn’t likely to see more than $50 in a given year between birthday money, Christmas, and beneficent dispositions from Grandma.
I felt a bit bad when he left about half of it on my desk later that day. I knew that this was all the money that he had.
A week later, I was surprised when he handed me the balance. My first thought was not good. I asked where he got the money and when he told me he worked for it, I didn’t believe him. I told him to put the money back wherever he found it. I figured he had stolen it from one of his siblings. I was trying to give him the opportunity to make things right.
He argued that he earned it by washing cars, doing yard work, and other odd jobs for neighbors. I didn’t believe him. He listed the neighbors by name and exactly what he had done for each. I still didn’t believe him. I assumed he was making up stories. After all, he has a robust imagination.
The next day he I walked out just as he was arriving home on his bike. A neighbor was following him with his dog. The neighbor profusely thanked me for allowing my son to do some yard work for him. He explained that his knees were shot and he just couldn’t do it himself; my son was an answer to his prayers. And, as it turned out, my neighbor was an answer to my son’s prayers.
To man up and pay his fine, he had gone door to door asking the neighbors if they had any odd jobs that he could do to earn money. Rather than being overwhelmed by his debt, he began to hustle.
As a management professor, I couldn’t help think of the parallel between what happened to him and what is happening in society. No one wanted COVID-19, the shutdowns, and the economic consequences of the pandemic. No one that I know prefers virtual meetings over face-to-face interactions. But the successful will take responsibility, pivot, and embrace the new reality. They will determine how to provide value to others and then hustle to make it happen.
I wondered how often we inhibit this reaction by our expectations. I could not be more proud of my son, but a week ago, I didn’t think he could have done what he did. I could not see what he could see.
How are we hindering our people in these trying times? Do we have too little vision? Have they continuously heard that we just need to hunker down and get through this? Or, do we set a tone of positivity? Do we let them experiment? Do we encourage them to try new things?
What would happen if we expected more?
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Dr. Darin Gerdes is a tenured Professor of Management in the College of Business at Charleston Southern University.
All ideas expressed on www.daringerdes.com are his own.
FTC Disclosure: When I refer to a book, I often add a link to Amazon (#ad) so you can purchase it easily. I may earn a few cents if you buy it, but I never recommend any books unless they are worth reading.
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