Michael Rooke

Does a leader’s behaviour really influence the productivity and creativity of their team? In short: absolutely.

When we say a situation is “stressful,” what we’re really describing is our reaction to it, not the event itself. Stress is a human response: feelings of exhaustion, threat, or worry. Yet the facts of the situation remain unchanged, no matter how emotionally charged our perception may be.

Henry Ford once famously said: “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” It’s a powerful reminder of how deeply our beliefs shape our behaviour and in turn, our results.

This week, I came across some fascinating research highlighted by the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest about how expectations can shape a student’s performance and it struck me how relevant it is for anyone managing people in the workplace.