Leaders Know High Expectations Lead to High Performance
Posted on June 10, 2007
Filed Under Women Leaders | 10 Comments
Leaders know high expectations lead to high performance. Leaders know that the more people believe in themselves, and their leaders believe in them, the more they will accomplish – at all levels.
We often think of leadership in terms of the Jack Welch’s; the leaders of the military; the leaders of our government and institutions; the leaders of our industries. But leadership doesn’t come in any particular wrapper – it shows up all over the place.
Let me share a story of real leadership:
A young girl, in second grade in a small town in Wisconsin was tested and classified as a below grade level student. That designation put her in an educational wasteland. Not much expected of her, not much effort spent on her development. Her parents discovered she had a vision problem – she had been accommodating it by memorizing everything. It caught up with her in second grade. Her parents fixed the vision problem. Her parents talked to the school, but they were firm in their decision to keep her in a below grade level class. The young girl had a hard time thinking of herself as being as good as other kids – after all, her school said she wasn’t up to standard. And now she was the only kid in class with glasses.
After this young girl had completed fourth grade, her family moved to California. It was a good time to let this young girl catch her breath academically, and so she repeated fourth grade. No onus on it – she was in a completely different place.
And then the stars aligned and this young girl met the leader who would take her to a new place in her life.
Her fourth grade teacher was Mrs. Kruger. A former military nurse who had been in the South Pacific during WW II. No nonsense, firm, tough. On parents night she warned all parents to let her students be accountable for their actions. If a student forgot their lunch, don’t bring it to school. They won’t starve. Let the kids know they are responsible for their own actions. There were no below grade level kids in Mrs Kruger’s world. The young girl did forget her lunch early in the year. She came home hungry, but she never forgot it again.
Mrs Kruger taught from high expectations. If an assignment was turned in that didn’t meet her expectations for that student, they got to do it over, and over, and over – until she was satisfied that they had done their best work. The young girl was forced to redo her work often, and she didn’t always like it. But the work she turned in after being forced to redo it was always better for the extra effort – and she saw that – and knew hard work resulted in accomplishment.
There was no horseplay in Mrs Kruger’s class – no disrespect. She simply would not let it happen. Her class was a demanding, but safe place for her students to learn. She was energetic, critical, optimistic, and a wonderful teacher for this little girl. Her students respected and feared her – although she never threatened or used force of any kind. She just demanded her students do their best – even if they weren’t convinced they could do better. And when they did, she recognized them with praise.
After a year with Mrs Kruger, this young lady had achieved a three grade level improvement in reading, writing and arithmetic. It wasn’t easy – she worked really hard. But she knew she had performed – and what a change that made in her feelings about herself.
From that start – from that year with Mrs Kruger, this young woman went on to Honors Level classes in high school, to graduating from Boston College, and to getting her Masters in Special Education from Simmons College in Boston.
We’re very proud of our daughter- and we’re very thankful that she had the opportunity to spend a year of her young life learning from Mrs Kruger – a true leader.
There are so many qualities that a leader may possess – but the qualities of optimism; of demanding and expecting the best; of rewarding accomplishment; rank at the very top of the leadership list.
Take a look at how much you expect from yourself – and from others. If there is room for improvement, think of this story of Mrs Kruger, who made such a difference in our daughter’s life – and then go out and make it happen.
Do it today. We all can be Mrs Kruger in our own way.
Watch the video related to woman leaders
Melissa Harris-Lacewell Urges Obama to Draw on Political Rhetoric of African American Women Like Hamer, Chisholm & Jordan The Democratic Party is preparing to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King today ahead of Barack Obama’s nomination speech. While Obama is expected to reference King’s speech tonight, one of his longtime supporters is urging him to also draw on the political rhetoric of African American women, including Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm. We …
Help answer the question about woman leaders
"Behind every powerful man there's a woman" & "male leaders have been war-mongers": What's that say of women?Common expressions in language and opinions cited by the feminists movement. Seems to reflect worse on women if youre smart enough to put the pieces together.
Savvy, the greatest philosophers and thinkers in history, the greatest scientists and astronomers, great rhetoricians and logicians, were also great mathematicians and geometers.
Thinking, objectively, logically, math and truth all go hand-in-hand. It makes no sense to criticize the rigor of mathematical reason simply because it produces a sociological conclusion you disagree with.
About Author
Andy Cox is President of Cox Consulting Group LLC. He founded his firm in 1995 after extensive experience in leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations. His focus is on helping clients select, develop, retain and enhance the performance of leaders and emerging leaders. He can be reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com . Visit his blog at http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com
Comments
10 Responses to “Leaders Know High Expectations Lead to High Performance”
Leave a Reply
Hoop Sisters! I love the holistic program that teaches so many positive skills. The other programs that link corporate leaders with community based programs, women connecting, sharing, and changing lives… so powerful!
Franklin D. Roosevelt's wife.
Billie Miller, senior minister and minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade of Barbados; Beatriz Paredes, president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of Mexico; Nemecia Achacollo Tola, first vice president of Congress of Bolivia; Marta Lucía Ramírez, senator of Colombia; Epsy Campbell Barr, president of the Citizen Action Party (PAC) of Costa Rica; congresswomen Maria Antonieta Saa of Chile; Dayana Martínez Burke of Honduras; and Olga Ferreira de Lopez of Paraguay.
Perhaps they will honor her for having so much money to shut down the concept of Universal Health Care in the USA.
Women are more vindictive by nature yes. Anyone with criminal justice knowledge knows that.
As for PMSing….the woman should be hitting menopause sometime soon.
I don't see her being good for this country, even if she were a man. It's obvious that she's in over her head. I'm not comfortable with that. It has nothing to do with her being a woman though.
I'm a real Mathematics fan, and I think you're on to something here!
I think this reflects what happens in real life – if you make feel-good statements to justify your actions instead of justifying them rationally and with logic, you'll be caught. Feminists canot escape this. Nobody can.
There are enough sayings and quotes and feel-good statements, that there is no statement that is safe from an equally legitimate counter-statement.
"Thinking, objectively, logically, math and truth all go hand-in-hand. It makes no sense to criticize the rigor of mathematical reason simply because it produces a sociological conclusion you disagree with."
Spot on!
If that's the case, then why were Deborah (Judges 4-5), Phoebe (Romans 16:1), and Euodia and Syntyche (Phillipians 4:2) allowed to be prophets, and a deaconess, and evangelicals?
The original Greek word for "woman" used there ("gune") doesn't mean "females." It could more accurately be translated "wives." And when you consider that, it fits in much better with the rest of the verse. Otherwise, telling all women (even the unmarried ones) to keep quiet and ask their husband, would that make sense? No. What this verse, and the one in 1 Timothy, is saying is that women who are married, and therefore have a man as their head, are to let the man be the religious head of the two, and are not to speak or hold authority over him.
Also, consider culturally what was going on. Many people's wives were interrupting the prophesying of others and asking them to explain what they had just said. So Paul was also addressing that. The wife who did not understand should not interrupt the gathering to ask for clarification, when they can ask their husband at home, and still understand it without interrupting the meeting. That's the practical side of it.
I will vote for the person I find best able to do the job.
It does not matter if they are male or female.
The best person for the job is not Hillary Clinton and I refuse to vote for her "just because she's a woman"
I think you are treading on a very touchy subject, but I give you credit for looking at. I happen to agree that a woman President might bring some negativity to the table in some other countries. In addition, I feel some organizations might "test" her resolve. I also agree I think America is ready for a woman President, and I think Clinton would do a good job with the issues that face us as a nation. But at what price? I would support a woman President, but I also think we need to be prepared to defend our decision to have one. I am not a Clinton supporter. But I will defend my fellow country men's right to elect one.
Boudicca (led a revolt in Britain against the Roman conquest)
Mrs Bandaranaike (PM of Sri Lanka for a while)
Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister of Britain 1979-90)
Indira Gandhi (PM of India in the 1970s)
Sen Hillary Clinton (New York)
St. Margaret (ruling Queen of Scotland, c1100AD)
Elizabeth I (ruling Queen of England 1558-1603)
Eleanor Roosevelt (OK, only the President's wife formally, but what an influence!)
Cleopatra
Mrs Aquino (President of Philippines when it became a democracy after the Marcos dictatorship).