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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.”


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!”


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


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,...

https://youtu.be/w-HFv6Ms1lw?t=1m15s


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?


Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

• Rosenthal & Jacobson – At-risk students did not perform

according to their abilities

– Rather,…they performed to the expectations of their teachers


• The experiment pivotal to the research findings showed that teachers

• "...subtly and unconsciously encouraged the performance they expected to see."

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (2)


Meaning for Managers

• What can we learn from

– History?

– Movies?

– Mythology?

– Research?

• ..that people will show up for us as we expect them to.


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


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


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.”


The Cycle


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)


How do we,...

• Think about our employees?

• Talk about our employees?

• Talk to our employees?


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)


Filtering


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


The cow piece is molded

to only fit in 1 spot

What “molds” are you creating with your expectations?


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


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

https://youtu.be/d-mmNUUb7aM?t=1h45m55s

THANK YOU! Questions, Comments

Rebecca Harmon, MPM, RHIA, CCA Chief, Health Information Management Systems

VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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.

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