Sincerity, fairness and transparency are being preached all over the world. Searching on Google with the keyword "fair benefits" yields 30,500 results; however, searching with "fair costs" yields only 6 results. The far-reaching influence of the "hymns" that praise leadership can be seen.
The world is filled with the benefits of authenticity, candor, and transparency. A Google search using the phrase "benefits of candor" returned 30,500 entries and only 6 for the opposite phrase, "costs of candor." The kumbaya nature of leadership advice shows through.
But before you run off and tell everyone exactly what you think and feel, here's some evidence supporting the opposite approach.
The Expectancy Effect
About 50 years ago, a Harvard social psychologist and san Francisco school principal studied the effects of Pygmalion in the classroom. They found that students who were labeled based on fictitious test results were likely to experience intellectual growth over the course of their studies, as shown by increases in IQ measures over the course of the school year. This effect is particularly pronounced for children in first and second grades. This research led to the rise of similar studies, first in education and then in management and leadership.
Israeli scholar Dov Eden has conducted multiple studies demonstrating that when leaders express high expectations for individuals ranging from salespeople to military personnel, these individuals perform at higher levels than those who do not receive the same high expectations. A subsequent systematic review of the scientific literature confirmed the effects of expectations on performance and found that these effects were more pronounced for previously poor performers.
There are at least two mechanisms by which expectations can have an impact on one's performance. One is called a defensive effort. Those who are told they will not do well will reasonably say that they will not try very hard. Why waste energy completing tasks that lead to no results? On the other hand, people who are told they are likely to succeed will invest more time and effort because they expect to receive rewards for their efforts.
Secondly, people including teachers and supervisors behave differently towards people depending on what they are told about those people. One article states that when a person is provided with stereotyped information about another person they expect to interact with - such as information about physical attractiveness, intelligence, etc. - their behavior changes in ways that confirm the stereotype. For example, people who think they interact with physically attractive individuals are more sociable, friendly, and likeable than those who think they interact with less attractive individuals.
In many cases, in order to increase positive expectations for performance, leaders or teachers must provide false or false information to targets. If poor performers perform well because they are told they are supposed to do well, leaders may have to say things they may not believe.
Placebo Effect
A related phenomenon in medicine is the placebo effect - the idea that people who think they are being given a certain drug or treatment will respond more simply because they think they are receiving an effective treatment. For example, studies in which cocaine abusers were given stimulants (not placebos) found that those who were told to give stimulants had about 50% higher physiological metabolic responses than those who received the same dose. were told they were being given a placebo.
A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine states that therapeutic encounters - doctors in white coats, other symbols and settings for drugs, and the apparent administration of some treatments - activate certain parts of the brain and affect patients at levels within Orphan and dopamine. The article suggests that these effects on neurotransmitters are the same as when patients take actual medications.
The potency of the placebo effect combined with the huge contemporary problem of opiate addiction has led to suggestions that "dummy" pills are sometimes used to treat patients' pain. The idea is to achieve pain relief without the administration (and availability) of addictive narcotics.
Again, in order for the placebo effect to work, there must be deception. If someone says you are taking a sugar pill, the placebo effect will not work and will not do the patient any good.
Self-fulfilling prophecies
The placebo and expectancy effects are examples of self-fulfilling prophecies - actions resulting from a certain idea that cause the idea, even if initially false, to become true. A typical example is running on a bank. If people think a bank is going to fail, they will rush to get their money out, which can lead to bank failure.
For businesses to be successful, they need the support of investors, buying customers, and the talent and energy of their employees. But none of these parties wanted to be associated with a company that was about to fail. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of a leader is to convince others that the organization can and will succeed and deserves their support. Leaders who convincingly project confidence can attract support and make the confident posture a reality, as the company becomes successful because others trust it to act on this basis.
Sometimes, as Andy Grove, co-founder and former CEO of Intel , once told the Harvard Business School conference in the San Francisco Bay Area, it requires leaders to show that they may not feel to gain confidence and act as if they know what they are doing, even if they don't.
As I quoted in a book written by Bob Sutton, Grove believed that leaders need to use deception to create the conditions for success: “Part of it is self-discipline, and part of it is deception. Deception becomes reality. In a sense, cheating makes you feel confident and better than you started out, but after a while, if you act confident, you will become more confident. Not so deceitful anymore."
Grove also emphasized that leaders should not show uncertainty and insecurity, even if, to quote him again, "none of us really understand where we are headed."
Forget about that for a moment. Those who deceive others for their own benefit may bring about self-interest. Assume that leaders have the purest of intentions and simply want others to succeed in achieving the lofty expectations others have for them. Perhaps leaders want their organizations to succeed because success inspires others to invest more and stay with the company. Or doctors hope to improve treatment outcomes by studying the placebo effect.
In all of these situations, people need to be able to prevaricate convincingly - which is one reason I sometimes say that the ability to lie convincingly is probably the most important management skill. In short, many situations in management and medicine rely on the operation of self-fulfilling prophecies. The sooner we realize this and incorporate it into leadership training, the better off we will be.
Sincerity, fairness and transparency are preached all over the world. A Google search for "fair benefits" yields 30,500 results; however, a search for "fair costs" yields only 6 results. The far-reaching influence of the "hymns" that praise leadership can be seen.
But don’t be too busy telling everyone your heart, because telling lies is not without merit, and here is some evidence.
Expectation Effect
About 50 years ago, a social psychologist at Harvard University and an elementary school principal in San Francisco studied the Pygmalion Effect in the teaching process. They fabricated the test results to say that some students' intelligence was likely to improve, and at the end of the school year the IQ test results of these students actually improved. The reaction of the first and second grade students was particularly obvious. After the report was released, similar research activities flourished, initially in the field of education and later extended to the field of business management.
Israeli scholar Dov Eden has shown through extensive research that if leaders express high expectations for certain subordinates, these subordinates will perform better than colleagues who are not encouraged, ranging from salespeople to soldiers. Later, someone systematically reviewed the scientific literature and confirmed that expectations affect personal performance, and found that people who had previously performed poorly were more affected. There are at least two ways in which
expects to impact individual performance. One is called defensive behavior.If you hear that you have no hope, you will give up your efforts. This is also reasonable. Why waste energy if you are destined to fail? On the other hand, if you hear that there is a good chance of success, you will invest more time and energy because you believe that your efforts will be rewarded.
Let’s talk about the second influence. People’s attitude towards someone is often influenced by other people’s evaluations, and teachers and administrators are no exception. One article pointed out that if you understand some characteristics of someone before dealing with them, such as appearance and intelligence, people's behavior will follow the impression they hear. For example, if they think the person they are communicating with is a handsome guy or a beautiful woman, people will tend to be more agreeable, friendly, and likable; if they think the person they are communicating with is unattractive, they will be much colder.
In many cases, leaders or teachers convey false information in order for positive expectations to improve individual performance. To make underachievers believe that they have hope and strive for progress, leaders may have to tell lies.
Placebo effect
There is a similar phenomenon in medicine, that is, the placebo effect. People who receive a placebo treatment but believe they are receiving a drug or treatment often respond significantly simply because they are psychologically convinced that the treatment is working. For example, one study showed that if some cocaine abusers were told that they were being given a stimulant (not a placebo), and other abusers were given the same dose of the stimulant but told that they were being given a placebo, they believed they were taking the stimulant. The physiological metabolic response of stimulant abusers will be about 50% higher.
A recent article published in the New England Journal of Medicine points out that sensory experiences during treatment, such as doctors in white coats, hospital symbols, medication plans, and doctors and nurses nervously arranging treatments, activate certain areas of the brain. , which in turn affects the patient’s endorphin and dopamine secretion levels. The article states that certain experiences in therapy can have the same effect on a patient's neurotransmitters as actual medication.
The role of the placebo effect has been established, but the problem of addiction caused by the use of opiates for pain relief is difficult to solve. Some people have suggested using "fake drugs" to relieve pain for patients in some cases. The key is not to use (and not provide) ) Addictive narcotics also achieve the purpose of pain relief.
Again, for the placebo effect to work, deception is necessary. If someone honestly told you that you were taking jelly beans instead of medicine, the placebo effect would not occur, and knowing the truth in this case would do the patient no good.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
The placebo effect and the expectancy effect are both examples of self-fulfilling prophecies. The concept is that certain thoughts trigger actions that make the thought come true, even if the thought is false. Bank runs are a classic example. If people believe that a bank is on the verge of failure, they will rush to withdraw money, causing the bank to actually fail.
For a company to succeed, it needs the support of investors, the spending of customers, and the talent and dedication of its employees. But no investor, customer or employee wants to be associated with a company on the verge of collapse. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of a leader is to convince others that the company will succeed and gain support from all parties. Leaders who demonstrate confidence gain support, and support makes that confidence a reality. Once people believe that the company will succeed and do everything based on that, the company will succeed.
As Intel co-founder and former CEO Andy Grove said at a Harvard Business School conference in the San Francisco Bay Area, sometimes leaders have to appear confident even when they have no confidence. You have no clue about the predicament, and you have to appear to be in control.
Grove is quoted in the book I co-wrote with Bob Sutton, who says that leaders need to deceive in order to pave the way to success: “Success is partly self-discipline and partly deception. Slowly the lie will Come true. Here, lying means to cheer yourself up and embellish the reality to make yourself feel better. After a while, you will find that as long as you show confidence, your self-confidence will really increase.”
Grove also emphasized that even if “no one really knows what the future holds,” leaders should not act indecisive and unsure.
There are indeed liars in the world who are only interested in personal gain. Ignore these for now. Please believe that leaders' goals are the purest. They just want others to succeed and live up to high expectations. Or leaders just want the company to succeed because success encourages employees to work harder for the company and stay. Using the Placebo Effect to Improve Treatment Effectiveness.
In all these situations, people have to lie conscientiously, so I sometimes say that being able to lie convincingly is perhaps the most important management skill. and the medical field, many situations rely on the power of self-fulfilling prophecies. The sooner you embrace this theory and incorporate it into leadership learning, the better.
