Increasing Employee Motivation – Practice Pygmalion Style Leadership

I dislike my boss! Why is this statement so common in today’s workplace? What have bosses done or failed to do to deserve this criticism? Have they insulted their direct reports, relied on outdated management practices, acted unethically, or could they be victims of the Peter Principle?

In the early 1970s, Canadian sociologist Laurence J. Peter introduced a management theory called the Peter Principle, which suggests that individuals are promoted based on their current abilities and the expectation that they will also be effective at higher levels. Many employees feel frustrated with their bosses due to poor leadership, lack of communication, or outdated management styles. But sometimes the frustration stems from the Peter Principle—where leaders are unprepared and promoted based on past performance rather than future potential.

Eventually, according to the Peter Principle, some individuals are promoted to a level at which they become ineffective because they lack the skills to lead at higher organizational levels. The idea is that success in one area automatically translates to success in others. For example, an excellent data analyst is promoted to department head. In this new role, the required skills go beyond analysis and include transversal skills necessary for effectively managing direct reports—skills the new department head might not have. In this case, the analyst falls victim to the Peter Principle and could be perceived as an ineffective department head, despite being an excellent analyst. Pygmalion-style leadership might help prevent such situations.

The Pygmalion effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When a supervisor holds high expectations for an employee, the employee internalizes this belief, creating conditions for success, as they become self-motivated to meet those expectations. I’ve seen this happen in the classroom—I tell students I believe they’ll produce a dynamic project, and I look forward to seeing and hearing their presentation. As a result, the students, not wanting to disappoint me, produce better work. Using a Pygmalion leadership style in the workplace—where supervisors express strong belief in employees’ abilities—is a powerful motivator and helps prepare employees for more senior roles.

In today’s workforce, effective leadership is essential for driving company growth and is key to engaging and retaining employees. Employees seek organizations that challenge them and offer growth opportunities. Examples include Satya Nadella’s leadership at Microsoft and Howard Schultz’s leadership approach at Starbucks. Both focus on empowering employees. Today, leaders must inspire, coach, empower, and challenge staff while offering upward mobility, so employees can develop and advance within the company. Without these opportunities, employees will look elsewhere, leading to high turnover. Employees appreciate recognition when they do a good job. Pygmalion-style leadership reinforces this by positively shaping their beliefs about employee potential. When practiced effectively, it allows leaders to instill confidence and motivation.

It’s also important that leaders are genuine and have competent employees willing to step out of their comfort zones. The status quo and comfort zones are enemies of innovation. Leaders aiming for a culture of innovation must trust their employees and tap into their potential. Many employees are unaware of their abilities beyond their current role and need inspiration. Leaders who adopt this approach inspire employees to reach new heights personally and professionally, encouraging them to move beyond the status quo. We all have doubts—about promotions, succeeding in new roles, or fearing failure—what if I fall short? Our conscious and subconscious minds conflict, often leading us to give up, convinced we can’t succeed at the next level. Pygmalion-style leadership can help reduce or eliminate these doubts by fostering positive beliefs.

Leaders who believe they have the best ideas will only advance as far as their ability to generate new ideas. When they run out of ideas, the company stagnates—the Peter Principle. But when leaders encourage input from employees, they often achieve results beyond their own ideas. For example, Google allows employees to spend 20 percent of their workweek on new projects. By tapping into their creative minds, leaders motivate employees to share ideas, innovate, and develop new products or streamline processes. Similarly, 3M, a major American multinational, used this approach, resulting in the invention of Post-it notes by an employee, which continues to generate significant revenue.

Key takeaway: Leaders who empower their teams and believe in their success—communicating this effectively through psychological safety—will find their teams meet or surpass expectations. That’s crucial in today’s innovative business environment. Employee empowerment, combined with Pygmalion-style leadership, keeps staff engaged and committed, creating a vibrant, low-turnover workplace where employees say, “I like working with my boss!”