Perception and Reality

“Perception is reality. If you are perceived to be something, you might as well be it because that’s the truth in people’s minds.”

Some years ago, I encountered an individual who thought that something was wrong with him. He was failing miserably at school and his teachers had begun treating him like he was a hopeless case. I assured him that there was nothing wrong with him, that I saw good in him, and he could accomplish anything he put his mind too. On a regular basis, I made it my business to reiterate that he was smart and could accomplish anything. Within months, he had made a remarkable improvement and went on to graduate with several subject awards.

A phenomenon occurred in an elementary school in the USA some years ago, it was the result of a study by researchers (Rosenthal and Jacobsen 1968). During the academic school years, the school was engaged in psychological tests to predict intellectual growth of students. At the start of the year, researchers randomly selected the names of students and informed teachers that those children were ‘fast developers’. When the school year ended, the teachers reported that those students did indeed outperform their peers.

Rosenthal and Jacobsen accredited the performance of the students largely because of the way the teachers behaved towards them. Not knowing that it was an experiment, the teachers believed that the students were gifted and treated them as such. As a result, the students manifested the teachers’ beliefs of them. On the other hand, the other students, who were considered average performers, produced average results. In other words, the teachers got just what they expected.

Today, we focus on Merton (1957) ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. This is a management theory ‘which broadly means a prophesy which comes true solely because it has been made.’ This theory manifests itself in all areas of people’s lives. Take for example two people in a relationship, Jack and Jill. Jill is constantly accusing Jack of infidelity. When the initial accusation started, there was no infidelity but eventually Jill’s worst fears became her reality solely because she perceived Jack as a cheater. Think of a student who was constantly berated by a teacher as being a dunce, a troublemaker or someone who would never amount to anything. Eventually the student began manifesting the traits that confirmed the teacher’s perception. Think of a child who is constantly being told you will end up dead or imprisoned, what are the chances that what is being spoken in that child’s life will be manifested? Very likely.

The same is true for organizational behaviour. The theory argues that managers’ perceptions of employees can influence their behaviour and the way they think of themselves. That being the case, it can be argued that the performance of employees within a department or organization reflects how managers perceive them. If managers perceive employees as well intended people who are honest, hard workers, and who have the organization’s best interest at heart, managers will treat employees as valuable resources within the organization, and the employees will in turn manifest the managers’ perceptions of them. Alternatively, if managers perceive employees as dishonest people with no emotional commitment to the organization and whose jobs are only a means to an end, managers will treat them as liabilities to the organization and employees will in turn manifest traits that are synonymous with being a liability to the organization.

It is therefore fair to say that managers shape the behaviour within the organization based on their perception of the people within the organization. Imagine three employees joining your organization straight out of university. All three of them have the same level of education and were assigned to three different departments. One of the new employees, Sue, manager recognizes that she is from a reputable family, and by virtue of her association perceived that she will be a high performer. Sue is taken under his wings. She is mentored and given all the support needed to flourish as an employee. Unless the other two employees are given similar attention by their manager, Sue will appear to be a cut above the other two solely because of her manager’s perception.

Roger Birkman is quoted as saying “The reality of life is that your perceptions – right or wrong – influence everything else you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.”

It is important to note that not in all cases people manifest what others perceive them to be. People who are self-aware and purpose driven manage to stay on course and become just who they intend to be. However, it has been tested and proven that managers’ perception of employees can influence their behaviour, it is therefore important for managers to believe that there is good in all employees and if given enough support, everyone can make a valuable contribution to the organization.

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