Perfect your Perspective!
Small changes can shift your leadership results from meh to miraculous!
presented by: Rebecca Harmon, MPM, RHIA, CCA
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
Introduction
“In the day-to-day HIM world, we are often our
own worst enemies.”
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
A Story of Expectations
• Ever hear this saying?
– “be careful what you wish for - it just might show up!”
• Or
– “if you look hard enough, you’re going to find something!”
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
An Old Story
• Greek myth: Pygmalion
– most recognized from Metamorphoses (a poem by Ovid) where Pygmalion - a sculptor - fell in love with a statue that he had carved.
• Theme repeats across history
– George Bernard Shaw’s play ‘Pygmalion’
– Movie version: My Fair Lady
– Cartoon movie: Pinnochio
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
Beliefs
• In each of these folk tales, the deep-rooted beliefs (desires) of someone resulted in the fulfillment of the desire
– Pygmalion’s statue became a woman
– Pinocchio became “a real boy”
– Eliza Doolittle became a lady
– AND,...
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
What We Know
• Can we find the good that’s still left in people?
• Are we willing to look for it?
– Or at least be open to its presence?
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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Rosenthal & Jacobson – At-risk students did not perform
according to their abilities
– Rather,…they performed to the expectations of their teachers
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• The experiment pivotal to the research findings showed that teachers
• "...subtly and unconsciously encouraged the performance they expected to see."
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (2)
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
Meaning for Managers
• What can we learn from
– History?
– Movies?
– Mythology?
– Research?
• ..that people will show up for us as we expect them to.
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
J Sterling Livingston • When Sterling was 14
– mother died & father abandoned the family
• Sterling, his 4 brothers and a sister (age 18) raised themselves
– during the Depression
• After high school:
– got a job as wiper on a freighter headed for Shanghai, China
– did not intend to go to college
• High school debate coach persuaded him to reconsider
• He attended Glendale Junior College and then the University of Southern California
Harvard Professor
• Founded the Sterling Institute in 1967
• Wrote ‘Pygmalion in Management’ in 1969 – Remains one of HBR’s
best sellers
• Professor at Harvard Business School – taught in MBA &
Doctorate programs for > 20 years
J Sterling Livingston
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
Students & Employees
• Like the research in elementary schools (Rosenthal & Jacobson), Livingston showed that expectations of the managers drive the performance of the employees.
• Expectations of those in leadership positions have a significant impact on the rank and file
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
From ‘Pygmalion in Management’
“Some managers always treat their subordinates in a way that leads to
superior performance. But most...unintentionally treat their
subordinates in a way that leads to lower performance than they are
capable of achieving.”
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
The Cycle
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Important Caveat
• Not exclusive to leaders or managers
• This works backwards too
– Because sometimes you have to manage your manager
• For more information on Managing Up, see ‘What Everyone Should Know About Managing Up’ by Dana Rousmaniere (Harvard Business Review, January 23, 2015)
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
How do we,...
• Think about our employees?
• Talk about our employees?
• Talk to our employees?
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
Unconscious Filters
• We’re exposed to billions of pieces of data in every waking moment
– But we only pay attention to a small fraction of that data
– How? (selective filtering)
(Hass, 2015)
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Filtering
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Becoming Aware
• When we “apply” a filter to someone and let it become our default assumption
– We’re creating a mold of behavior and expectations
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
The cow piece is molded
to only fit in 1 spot
What “molds” are you creating with your expectations?
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
How to Shift
• Commit to the process
• Create lists
• Practice the pause
• Get a “trusted agent”
• Be willing to be human
• You will stumble – keep getting back up
• See the good in yourself, too
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
Expectations & Behaviors
“You see, really and truly, apart from the things anyone
can pick up (the dressing and the proper way of speaking,
and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower
girl is not how she behaves but how she’s treated. I shall
always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins because he
treats me as a flower girl and always will,...”
~ Eliza Doolittle
THANK YOU! Questions, Comments
Rebecca Harmon, MPM, RHIA, CCA Chief, Health Information Management Systems
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
© 2016 Rebecca Harmon
References Hass, D. (2015, February 11). This Is How the Brain Filters Out Unimportant
Details. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-babble/201502/is-how- the-brain-filters-out-unimportant-details
Livingston, J.S. (1969). Pygmalion in Management, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1969, pp. 81-89.
Rosenthal, R., &. Jacobson, L. (1963). Teachers' expectancies: Determinants
of pupils' IQ gains. Psychological Reports, 19, 115-118.
Werner, A. J. (Screenwriter). (1964). My fair lady [Motion picture]. Burbank,
CA: Warner Bros.