Are You A Small Fishbowl Manager Or A Large Fish Tank Leader?

Coaching mindset: What we see is what we get

“Tell me about the people at the organization you just left,” said the senior manager who was screening candidates to fill a key leadership role. “They were uneducated and lazy,” the candidate responded. “You always had to keep an eye on them because they were constantly trying to goof off or rip off the company. They were lousy communicators, resisted change, and only cared about themselves.” “That’s too bad,” replied the senior manager, “I am sorry to say that’s the same type of people you’ll find here. This doesn’t sound like a job you would enjoy.”

Once the next candidate was seated, she was asked the same question. “Oh, they were great,” she said. “Although many of them couldn’t read and we had some trouble communicating with each other, they were very driven to succeed. Once we all got to know each other, they were constantly helping one other and working together.” “Great,” the senior manager responded, “That’s the same type of people you’ll find here.”

On accepting his Oscar, the late director Robert Altman said: 'The role of the director is to create a space where the actors and actresses can become more than they have ever been before, more than they've dreamed of being.'"

You've likely had a limiting boss, teacher, sports coach, or parent who stunted your growth. And you've likely had someone who saw greater potential -- perhaps more than you saw in yourself -- and helped you grow.

This has been called The Pygmalion Effect. In his Harvard Business Review classic, "Pygmalion in Management," J. Sterling Livingston draws upon the ancient Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who carved a statue of a beautiful woman that was later brought to life. George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (which was the basis for "My Fair Lady") used a similar theme. In the play, Eliza Doolittle explains, "The difference between a flower girl and a lady is not how she behaves, but how she is treated." Livingston presents a number of his own studies, as well as other research, to prove that "If a manager's expectations are high, productivity is likely to be excellent. If his expectations are low, productivity is likely to be poor."

Dov Eden, leadership professor and author of Pygmalion in Management: Productivity as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, reports, "The Pygmalion Effect is great science that is underapplied. It hasn't made the difference it should have in the world, and that's very disappointing."

The goldfish analogy illustrates the impact of expectations and beliefs. If you buy a little goldfish and keep it in a small bowl, it will grow a few inches for the rest of its life. Move that same fish to a large aquarium, and it will double or triple in size. Put the goldfish in a large pond, and it can grow up to a foot long. The key factor determining the size of the fish is the size of its environment.

Many managers see people as they are and treat them according to what they see. He or she would take a small goldfish and keep it in the little bowl because it would be inefficient and wasteful to put it in a larger environment. Strong leaders see people as they could be and coach them to grow that potential.

Less effective managers often focus on fixing weaknesses. Highly effective leaders draw out and build on strengths. As organizational psychologist and executive coach, Doug MacKie writes in his book, Strength-Based Leadership Coaching in Organizations: An Evidence-Based Guide to Positive Leadership, "Both coaching and positive psychology share certain assumptions in their focus on the positive, the belief that people want to learn and most importantly that individuals contain within themselves, the solution to their own challenges."

In my executive coaching, I’ve found it’s incredibly tough to help leaders – especially very successful entrepreneurs – who can’t switch from being the star player to becoming a coach and team builder. Many drive their companies to a substantial size and then become the choke point for moving to the next level. A typical example was the CEO of a fast-growing company. After taking his company public and accelerating growth even faster, he got to the point of working 100 hour weeks. He slowly burned himself out as his frustration grew. He couldn’t understand why his team wasn’t stepping up and taking more responsibility. They were frustrated as he showed diminishing confidence in them, took an ever-stronger command and control role, and hollowed out their jobs. Many left or were let go. The company’s no longer in business.

What’s your coaching mindset? Are you a small fishbowl manager or a large fish tank leader? Are you stunting or stimulating your organization’s growth?