We have all had expectations placed on us or seen them placed upon others. We may have even set certain expectations pertaining to certain areas of our lives. It is astonishing how people live up to expectations that are set, regardless of whether they are positive or negative. People have been conditioned to do so. In most cases, people do not realize how powerful this can be for a team, organization, company or an individual. The expectations we set for ourselves and other people in our lives, can determine if we will reach or fall short of our goals.
There have been several studies, which haves tested this theory. Robert Rosenthal did a study in 1964, where he tested the IQ of elementary kids in San Francisco. He then randomly told teachers which kids had tremendous potential. After following these children for years, they all raised their IQ’s significantly higher than the other kids in the group with “less potential”. What they found, was the way the teachers treated these kids, was totally different, as they expected them to have more potential than the others.
The teachers would give those children more attention, more specific feedback, a longer period of time to answer questions. These were physically interacted with, smiled at, and nodded at more. If the kids were not learning the material, teachers would come up with different strategies to make sure they understood the material. Instead of the teachers placing the burden on the children, they felt that because these kids had great potential, it was up to them to figure out ways to make sure they were learning.
This is why we have great expectations for every athlete we train. We know that every athlete can perform at a higher level. It is not the athlete that has to have this expectation before we get started, but instead, we need to show them what is possible for them to achieve, and what we believe they have the ability to do in the future. Not every athlete has the potential to play in college, or at the professional level, but every athlete has the ability to perform better and do more for themselves and their team.
Sometimes it is difficult maintaining this attitude. The reason being, is that many people have a preferred way of doing things and if they cannot get the desired result with their current process, they usually think nothing can be done. After experiencing a devastating injury in college, where my strength coaches and physical therapists were unable to get me back to performing my best, I knew there was a bigger issue. Unwilling to look outside of what they knew and studied, while seeking what others around the country were doing for people in my situation, was the mistake. We simply will not let a single one of our athletes that we work with, fall into this situation. We will always expect the best, and continue to work towards finding the right solutions for each individual we train. Our expectations of our athletes are high–but we expect even higher of ourselves. Contact us now, and let us help you take your game to the next level.
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