Great expectations
Booker T. Washington once said, “Few things help individuals more than to place responsibility upon them, and to let them know that you trust them.” I hadn’t read that until very recently, but it’s actually how I managed people ranging from my employees to my own children.
It’s long been a credo of mine that people will always live up — or DOWN — to your expectations of them. That is, if you expect or assume laziness, or deceit, or incapability, or any other lesser qualities, then nine times out of ten that is exactly what you will get. On the other hand, if you expect or assume anything from “simple” trustworthiness and hard work to integrity and competence, that’s what you will get, too.
And sometimes, given that sort of environment, actual greatness can appear.