Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

Why Establishing High Expectations Is a Quality of Good Leadership Regardless of your leadership style, it's important to raise the bar and help your team rise to meet it.

By Richard Koch

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Ollyy | Shutterstock

Eighteen classes of schoolchildren were tested for their IQs. The results weren't shown to students or parents. Instead, their teachers were simply given a list of which ones scored highest, along with these instructions: Do not treat these students differently than the others.

What happened next may have taken place in a classroom, but it can light a path for our own adult careers. Here were the results — originally produced in this study in 1965 but repeated many times over: After eight months, all the students were given another IQ test. Among the children not identified as unusually gifted before, there were no notable changes. But among the students who had scored highly before, four-fifths scored at least 10 IQ points higher the second time…and a fifth of them gained 30 points.

Continue reading this article — and all of our other premium content with Entrepreneur+

Join the internet’s leading entrepreneur community! With your subscription you’ll get:

  • Access to all of our premium content and an ad-free experience
  • A complimentary subscription to Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Four free e-books a year and 20% off everything from our bookstore
  • Exclusive events with business celebrities and successful entrepreneurs

Editor's Pick

'Catastrophic': Here's What You Should Know About the Debt Ceiling Crisis — And How a Default Could Impact Your Business
Lock
I Helped Grow 4 Unicorns Over 10 Years That Generated $18 Billion in Online Revenues. Here's What I've Learned.
Lock
Want to Break Bad Habits and Supercharge Your Business? Use This Technique.
Lock
Don't Have Any Clients But Need Customer Testimonials? Follow These 3 Tricks To Boost Your Rep.
Why Are Some Wines More Expensive Than Others? A Top Winemaker Gives a Full-Bodied Explanation.

Related Topics

Business News

7 of the 10 Most Expensive Cities to Live in the U.S. Are in One State

A new report by U.S. News found that San Diego is the most expensive city to live in for 2023-2024, followed by Los Angeles. New York City didn't even rank in the top 10.

Money & Finance

3 Ways to Create Multiple (Big) Streams of Income

Here are three ways to create multiple streams of income. These strategies require effort and resources but offer significant financial potential.

Science & Technology

She's Been Coding Since Age 7 and Presented Her Life-Saving App to Tim Cook Last Year. Now 17, She's on Track to Solve Even Bigger Problems.

Angelina Tsuboi, a full-stack mobile and web developer who also happens to be a pilot, has always been solution-oriented.

Diversity

Beyond Marketing — How Brands Can Truly Support the Black Community on Juneteenth

Here are a few authentic ways businesses can support and serve as allies to the Black community on Juneteenth.

Leadership

The Real Reason Why The Return to Office Movement is Failing is Revealed in New Study

There is a vivid sign of the disconnect between employees and their workplace, a glaring indication that companies need to revise their scripts to improve their hybrid and remote work policies.