The opinions of the environment can affect the actions and beliefs of people, where, if they are negative, they can generate behaviors based on the fear of failure or individuals only motivated by the expectations of others about them. But if you have a positive expectation, you can make people feel more capable of achieving their goals because of the trust that has been placed in them. This is the Pygmalion effect.
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The myth of Pygmalion and Galatea
The Pygmalion effect originates from a story written by Ovid, where the King of Cyprus wanted to find the perfect woman, and being unable to find her, he asks Pygmalion, a sculptor, to make a statue for which he carves in ivory and has by name Galatea. Being such beautiful work, Pygmalion falls in love with her and treats her like a real woman. His passion is so great that, through the work of Aphrodite, the sculpture comes to life after Pygmalion had a dream.
Why the Pygmalion effect?
Thanks to this history, the Pygmalion effect is named as the support, encouragement, and push that we give a person to help him achieve his goals, for the simple fact of believing in that person and his faculties; this refers to a conscious interpretation of the reality that should be, in such a way that we can change those modes, thoughts, and attitudes to reach the desired result.
The “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy” Theory
The Pygmalion effect is also known as the theory of self-fulfilling Prophecy, as it holds that if you believe in something, be it positive or negative, this will eventually happen, since this goal is unconsciously set on the horizon and will direct the actions towards that possibility, that is why the expectations about the rest of the people can also become real.
The Pygmalion effect applied to work
The development of the functions of the members of a work team is affected by the expectations that are held about them, that is why leaders must correctly express the expectations they have, since, in many cases, the performance of a group can be conditioned on the perception that one has of it. If leaders do not have adequate communication skills, it can affect their team’s performance, capabilities, and productivity.
The power of this story
The story of Pygmalion and Galatea gives rise to a tool that, at no cost, allows achieving increasingly demanding goals, since it enhances the motivation of people to take on day-to-day tasks positively, strengthening confidence in their capacities, both individually and as a team, thus allowing the fulfillment of all the proposed objectives.
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