How Belief in Potential Expands What’s Possible
What Pygmalion and Rosenthal Teach Us About Growth, Leadership, and Becoming
In psychology, the Rosenthal Effect refers to a specific and well-documented phenomenon: when people in positions of authority believe that others have strong potential, their beliefs consistently influence positive outcomes. In Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson’s landmark study Pygmalion in the Classroom, teachers were told that certain students—randomly selected—were expected to show exceptional intellectual growth. The students themselves were not told. Over time, those students demonstrated statistically significant gains in performance, especially in early grades. The change came not from motivation or self-belief, but from how teachers unknowingly changed their behavior—offering more encouragement, patience, feedback, and opportunity.
The Pygmalion Effect is the broader concept that emerged from this research. It describes the general pattern that higher expectations held by others can lead to improved performance. While often used interchangeably with the Rosenthal Effect, the distinction matters: Rosenthal identified a causal mechanism—belief held by authority figures shaping environments and interactions—while the Pygmalion Effect names the pattern across contexts, including leadership, healthcare, coaching, and organizational culture. Decades of subsequent research have replicated these expectancy effects, showing measurable impacts on performance, persistence, and learning.
What’s striking about this body of research is not just the statistical significance—it’s the human implication. Belief changes behavior, and behavior changes outcomes. Often unconsciously. This makes belief a powerful force—and a responsibility. Because when belief is present, people grow. And when belief is absent—or distorted by bias—potential can quietly stall.
How leaders and managers shape potential—often without realizing it
For leaders and managers, the Rosenthal Effect offers both an opportunity and a caution.
Our beliefs about people—about who is capable, who is “high potential,” who is likely to succeed—shape how we allocate attention, opportunity, and trust. These beliefs don’t need to be spoken aloud to have impact. They show up in who we listen to, who we challenge, who we mentor, and who we give the benefit of the doubt.
This is where bias and influence intersect.
If our beliefs are narrow, inherited, or unexamined, we may unintentionally reinforce inequity or limit growth. But if we intentionally choose to imagine the unique value and potential in every person, we create conditions where more people can thrive.
Belief, in this sense, is not about being naïve or overly optimistic. It’s about staying curious. It’s about holding people as capable of learning and evolving—even when the evidence isn’t fully visible yet.
What it feels like to be believed in
Most of us know the difference between working for someone who simply evaluates us and someone who genuinely believes in us.
When a leader with positional power values our contribution, sees our potential, and trusts us with meaningful work, something shifts. We’re more motivated. More engaged. More willing to stretch. We often rise in ways we didn’t expect of ourselves.
Research supports this lived experience. People who feel trusted and believed in tend to:
Take healthier risks
Persist through challenges
Perform at higher levels
Contribute more creatively and collaboratively
Belief doesn’t guarantee success—but it often inspires effort, courage, and unexpected impact. It creates an internal spark that says, Maybe I can do more than I thought.
Believe in YOU.
Scheduling this photo shoot with Shawnalee Studios in her beautiful Portland OR studio was an example of advocating for and believing in myself!
There’s also a personal way to think about this—What happens when we shape the beliefs that guide our own growth? What happens when the encouragement we offer others is something we learn to offer ourselves?
I felt this vividly in my first year of running my own business. Despite years of leadership experience in large organizations and a track record of results, imposter syndrome showed up fast and loud. Questions crept in, “Who am I to do this on my own?, What if people think I’m not enough?, What if this doesn’t work?”
What helped me wasn’t eliminating fear. It was choosing where I placed my belief. Again and again, I reminded myself of my passion and purpose—helping people shine, trust themselves, and create work and lives that make the world a better place.
When doubt got loud, I practiced saying:
This work matters to me.
I believe in people’s capacity to grow.
I don’t need to be perfect to be useful.
In doing this, I became my own Rosenthal Effect. I changed the conditions in which I was operating. I treated myself as someone capable of learning, adapting, and improving—and I showed up differently because of it.
Belief didn’t remove fear. It gave fear less authority.
Belief as a collective practice
Belief in potential—whether directed toward others or ourselves—is not just a feel-good idea. It is a statistically impactful practice with real consequences for performance, growth, and human possibility. We don’t need to overstate it. We just need to practice it—intentionally and responsibly.
As leaders, colleagues, coaches, and humans, we get to decide:
How we see people
How we speak to ourselves
What kinds of futures we make possible
Belief shapes behavior. Behavior shapes outcomes. And outcomes shape the world we’re living in.
So whether we’re holding belief for others or learning to hold it for ourselves, let’s make the effort—and see what becomes possible.
Thanks to Jack for sharing the article about the Rosenthal Effect that sparked this reflection.
