In his now-famous book, Flipnosis: The Art of Split-Second Persuasion, Kevin Dutton talks at length about how you can persuade people to behave in a particular way simply by getting them to believe that doing so is consistent with their personality – even when it’s not.
“Research has shown that providing individuals with false feedback about themselves can actually induce them to confirm it. To behave in a manner consistent with that feedback. They become the person that they believe themselves to be. Or, more accurately, the persona that they believe others believe them to be. Which in theory, of course, can be anything,” says Dutton.
He draws on research conducted during the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany. “German police feted English fans – not exactly noted for their temperance on such occasions – as being the ‘best fans in the world’. The tournament passed off without incident. Not, of course, that the compliment was genuine. You must be joking. Rather, the Germans had done their homework,” he relates.
Confirm Your Best Expectations
The key point here is that the way people perceive themselves is a key driver of behaviour – which has important implications for managers and team leaders, particularly when it comes to dealing with under-performers. If the theory is correct, then getting under-performers or slackers to believe you believe them to be capable, responsible and diligent, may be enough to actually induce such behaviour in them. It’s also useful for boosting a team’s confidence.
If they are provided with feedback that they can in fact achieve the task set out for them, they could be induced to believe it themselves and to subsequently act in a way that confirms this perception of themselves. By the same token, it suggests important things about not always focusing on the real negatives of a person’s behaviour, as doing so will only confirm their own negative belief of themselves, which in turn will drive their behaviour.
