Premise:
I watched this TED talk delivered by Chris Anderson and was inspired by this. He tells a lot of stories that have sparked the imagination of people, who went on to spread a lot of joy by being generous and creative.
I also like the concept that Ben Zanders talks about in his book, The Art of Possibility, about “Giving an A”. At the beginning of every class that he teaches, he tells his students that he will give them an “A” as their grade, provided they write him a letter, dated the day their class finishes (and in the present tense) explaining why they deserved an “A”.
You can watch him explain this here.
I would go a bit further than that. I share in my talks and conversations, the importance of doing this, giving an “A” unconditionally. I have known and experienced that people tend to live upto the expectations of them, from the people around them. So, if you expect them to behave and act like an “A”, they do. If you expect them to behave and act like a “C”, they tend to act like a “C”.
An even more important and impactful thing that each one of us can do to ourselves is to give ourselves an “A” and change the way we talk to ourselves. Our self talk is what sets the limits to who we can be and what we can achieve. So, if we are generous with ourselves and are willing to give ourselves an “A”, we have the potential and the opportunity to live into that possibility.
And if we are a leader or a manager, we are not only responsible for ourselves but also for everyone that we lead or manage. So, it becomes even more important for us to give ourselves an “A” and everyone we lead an “A” as well.
Giving someone an “A” doesn’t stop with that. It means that every interaction we have with them is as if they are an “A”. Every expectation that we have of them is as if they are an “A”. The way we support them or challenge them or inspire them is also as if they are an “A”. If we are genuine about this, the people will start to live into the possibility of them being an “A”.
In conclusion:
In conclusion, I can only say that this is a choice that we make. It’s a choice that we make every single day and in every single interaction. A choice implies that we have agency to choose what we want. It is better to choose this than anything else. It is a choice that leads to better performance, happier people and a culture worth belonging to.
And as Chris Anderson says, it can be infectious, if we put in a bit more thought and creativity into it and he shared the way in the talk.
