Leadership Report: Pygmalion Effect and Contemporary Organizations

This report examines the Pygmalion effect in leadership, exploring how expectations influence individual and organizational outcomes. It begins by defining the Pygmalion effect, explaining how high expectations from leaders can motivate employees and improve performance, while low expectations can have the opposite effect. The report then delves into the impact of this effect on both individuals and the organization as a whole, highlighting how employee self-efficacy, learning, and goal orientation can influence the intensity of the effect. It references studies showing varying impacts on different employee groups. Finally, the report discusses how the Pygmalion effect influences productivity, emphasizing the importance of setting realistic expectations to avoid job dissatisfaction and high attrition rates. The report is supported by references to relevant literature.

Leadership for the Contemporary Organizations
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Table of Contents
1. Pygmalion effect....................................................................................................................3
2. Impact on individual and organization...................................................................................3
3. Influencing productivity.........................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................4

1. Pygmalion effect
Psychologically, the Pygmalion effect is an incident where expectations lead to a certain
desired level of performance (DuBrin, 2016). Since, people likely to act in ways as expected
by others, high expectations positively influence performance whereas, low expectations
negatively influence performance. In the workplace, expectations of management for
employees is determined through their behavior which affect workforce outcomes (Friedrich,
et. al., 2015). For example, if employees receive continuous acknowledgement from leaders
who set high performance standards, employees are likely to motivate for achieving better
performance.
2. Impact on individual and organization
The Pygmalion effect in used as an interpersonal motivational tool in workplace. An
organization is composed of several individuals who have different variables such as self-
efficacy, learning, goal orientation and behavior. Therefore, employees who have high level
of these variables are likely to respond more intensely to the Pygmalion provisions as
compared to employees with low levels. Livingston (2003) conducted a study to measure
impact on productivity of different level of staff. The study found that the productivity of
“Super staff” was greatly increased, however, the productivity of the lowest unit dramatically
declined. Overall, it can be said that the Pygmalion effect is different on individual than the
whole organisation.
3. Influencing productivity
An international organization may use the Pygmalion effect to improve productivity by
setting high expectations by the management. Leaders can use high expectations to motivate
and intensify subordinates’ efforts. However, the expectations should be realistic, otherwise it
may result in failure to meet the unachievable goals of management. Such situation may
further lead to job-dissatisfaction and high attrition rates (Zimbardo, 2011).

References
Friedrich, A., Flunger, B., Nagengast, B., Jonkmann, K., & Trautwein, U. (2015). Pygmalion
effects in the classroom: Teacher expectancy effects on students' math
achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 1-12.
Livingston, J. S. (2003). Pygmalion in management. Harvard Business Review, 81(1), 97-
106.
DuBrin, A. J. (2016). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Nelson Education.
Zimbardo, P. (2011). The Pygmalion Effect and the Power of Positive Expectations.