If you are in charge of people, whether your title includes the words “Lead,” “Supervisor,” “Manager,” “Director,” “Vice President,” or anything else, the people that work for you look to you as the leader. Not just a manager, but someone who is going to lead, meaning offer guidance, a vision, and development opportunities. As much as subordinates should be working to make the team successful, it is even more important that the leader is focused on leading the team to success.

This success should be for the group as well as for the individuals. Assuming everyone has personal goals for their professional advancement, the leader should provide opportunities for that development, individually and as a team. And this should be for all members of the team.

However, this isn’t always the case. Leaders are human, and therefore are prone to making assumptions about individuals, or developing impressions about them that may or may not be rooted in fact. It is essential that leaders take the time to challenge their personal perceptions concerning their people, to ensure they are accurate. Believe it or not, how a leader interacts with their people can affect their team member’s performance and how they see themselves. In doing this self assessment, it would be wise to honestly consider how you interact with your charges, keeping in mind three well documented psychological phenomena that can dramatically impact how you deal with your people, especially since two of the three are rooted in how you as the leader interact with your people. (I’m only commenting on these phenomena here, but have provided hyperlinks for more details on each)

The first is the Set up to Fail Syndrome. To me, this is the most nefarious of the three, primarily because it is the most negative, and provides a “death spiral” for your team member that is almost impossible to climb out of, even for the most determined of performers.

The second is the Pygmalion effect. The leader can excel here.  Setting great expectations (stretch goals), positive reinforcement, and good coaching by the leader can help individuals and the team achieve great things, even outperforming their own expectations.

Finally, there is the Galatea effect. While sometimes misconstrued as arrogance, a healthy dose of self-confidence and a belief in one’s own ability can go a long way, especially if they find the proper support from their leader.

It would serve leaders to read up on these three psychological effects, understand how they impact a person’s performance, and how you as a leader can cultivate the best in your people. It will also provide you opportunities for some introspection to see if you are conducting yourself in the most effective way to truly lead your team. Signs to look for that you are being an effective leader: Happy, engaged employees; A high performing team; Your people are professionally growing and advancing (not running way from you, but getting ahead because of your mentorship). Good leaders exercise humility, and sometimes that requires us to see how we are getting in the way of our own team.

Read up on these effects, do an assessment of yourself, before assessing your people, and then consider how you engage your people. If change on how you interact with your team is required, that’s okay. You’ll be a better leader for it.

Jeff Adams is the author of “7 Essential Skills of Leadership, How to Lead Your Organization to Operational Excellence.” Jeff holds multiple certifications in continuous improvement methodologies, including Lean, Six Sigma, and QRM. More information about Jeff and services offered can be found at www.continuousleadership.com.