Leaders expect to succeed, and they expect success for their people. Life gives people whatever they will accept. It has been proven over and over again that things will work out exactly as you see them working out in your life. If you accept being average and ordinary, life will make you average and ordinary. If you accept being poor, life will make you poor. If you accept being unhappy, life will give you that, too, but if you expect to be successful and happy - and will not accept anything less there is hope that you will be.
A leader will not accept low expectations. People are going to develop, in one direction or another, and it is your responsibility as a leader to help them develop in a positive way. People will rise to the standards you set for them.
All of your people have talent. You knew they could contribute or you would not have put them on your “team” in the first place. Every time you set a goal and it is accomplished, you have helped build the confidence to reach for a higher goal. If you let people settle for modest goals, you will wind up with average and ordinary people on your team instead of superstars.
Many times a coach is as responsible for an athlete’s level of achievement as the athlete himself. Do not ever feel like your people’s goals and standards of excellence are none of your business. They need a coach to push them forward, and they will never resent the fact that you think they can do great things.
Constant encouragement leads to increased expectations. Encouragement does not produce instant results. It may take months or a year of telling a person how special he is before you see any development in his or her own expectations.