But the scores in the supposedly "dumb" group had gone up. The teachers had treated them as
though they were bright, and their energy, their hope, their optimism, their excitement had reflected
high individual expectations and worth for those kids.
These teachers were asked what it was like during the first few weeks of the term. "For some
reason, our methods weren't working," they replied. "So we had to change our methods." The
information showed that the kids were bright. If things weren't working well, they figured it had to be
the teaching methods. So they worked on methods. They were proactive; they worked in their Circle
of Influence. Apparent learner disability was nothing more or less than teacher inflexibility.
What do we reflect to others about themselves? And how much does that reflection influence their
lives? We have so much we can invest in the Emotional Bank Accounts of other people. The more we
can see people in terms of their unseen potential, the more we can use our imagination rather than our
memory, with our spouse, our children, our co-workers or employees. We can refuse to label them --
we can "see" them in new fresh ways each time we're with them. We can help them become
independent, fulfilled people capable of deeply satisfying, enriching, and productive relationships with
others.
Goethe taught, "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should
be and he will become as he can and should be."
Balance in Renewal
The self-renewal process must include balanced renewal in all four dimensions of our nature: the
physical, the spiritual, the mental, and the social/emotional.
Although renewal in each dimension is important, it only becomes optimally effective as we deal
with all four dimensions in a wise and balanced way. To neglect any one area negatively impacts the
rest.
I have found this to be true in organizations as well as in individual lives. In an organization, the
physical dimension is expressed in economic terms. The mental or psychological dimension deals
with the recognition, development, and use of talent. The social/emotional dimension has to do with
human relations, with finding meaning through purpose or contribution and through organizational
integrity.
When an organization neglects any one or more of these areas, it negatively impacts the entire
organization. The creative energies that could result in tremendous, positive synergy are instead used
to fight against the organization and become restraining forces to growth and productivity.
I have found organizations whose only thrust is economic -- to make money. They usually don't
publicize that purpose. They sometimes even publicize something else. But in their hearts, their only
desire is to make money.
Whenever I find this, I also find a great deal of negative synergy in the culture, generating such
things as interdepartmental rivalries, defensive and protective communication, politicking, and
masterminding. We can't effectively thrive without making money, but that's not sufficient reason for
organizational existence. We can't live without eating, but we don't live to eat.
At the other end of the spectrum, I've seen organizations that focused almost exclusively on the
social/emotional dimension. They are, in a sense, some kind of social experiment and they have no
economic criteria to their value system. They have no measure or gauge of their effectiveness, and as a
result, they lose all kinds of efficiencies and eventually their viability in the marketplace.
I have found many organizations that develop as many as three of the dimensions -- they may have
good service criteria, good economic criteria, and good human-relations criteria, but they are not really
committed to identifying, developing, utilizing, and recognizing the talent of people. And if these
psychological forces are missing, the style will be a benevolent autocracy and the resulting culture will