^{_{[Talent vs. Someone believing in you]}}

What makes someone great?

What is the difference between a high performer and average Joe?

Conventional wisdom tells us that first there needs to be talent.

Then your teacher believes in you.

With grit and determination you then become successful.

But why are there so many high performers that say:

“There was this one really special teacher that believed in me and sparked my interest forever.”

Research suggests, that nobody starts out as a high performer, let alone with talent.

It seems like how much your teacher believes in you plays a more significant role than we think.

Idea

Great teacher believe in all of their scholars.

But what if we don’t have a great teacher at our disposal?

What if your teacher plays favorites?

Here are a few ideas:

• Tell them you expect great things of yourself.

• Ask for constant feedback so they are engaged.

• Make them part of your success and speak highly of them.

• Have somebody speak to your teacher on your behalf, telling them how much potential you have.

Why does this work?

In a study students were randomly labeled as high potentials and promoted to their teachers.

Sure enough all of them significantly outperformed their peers.

Not only after a year, but for decades after.

And the gap widened.

Here is the reason:

Once your teacher is engaged and believes in you, being a high potential becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Your teacher now is committed to your success as they identified you as a high performer.

And they want to avoid proving themselves wrong at all cost.

You in turn, are less likely to give up and don’t want to disappoint someone who believes in you.

Once you are a high performer, your advantage compounds:

• You are labeled as one

• It’s known in your community

• Teachers want to prove that they are right

• And don’t want to disappoint them

Not to sound dramatic, but knowing this can change your life.

See you next week,

Gereon

P.S.: Check out chapter 4, “A Diamond in the Rough” in Adam Grant’s “Give & Take” for more on this topic.

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