Here's a story out of one of John C Maxwell's books which got me thinking:

The principal of a San Francisco school called in 3 teachers to tell them that an experiment was underway.  As the top 3 teachers they had been selected to teach the top 90 students, and the experiment was to see how much they could learn in a year. At the end of the year the students were tested and found to be 20 to 30% ahead of the other groups. The principal called the teachers in and told them she had a confession to make. 'the students were not chosen for their intelligence but were simply chosen at random. Of course this delighted the teachers who thought it had a lot to do with their skill as teachers. The principal went on. 'I have another confession to make; we also chose you at random, not because you were the best of the bunch'.

Some interesting questions here; what was it made them do so well?  What should our attitude be towards other people, especially those we are leading, whether in the home, business or church, or the local scout group?  Do we maximise their (and our) potential?  Will people do better if we believe in them, or will they do worse if we don't believe in them? What an awesome and sacred  responsibility we carry in all our relationships!

Be particularly interested in your comments on this one.

 

1 comment

Comment from: Robert J. Hawkins, Jr, [Visitor]
Robert J. Hawkins, Jr,Hi Mr. Martin. Rob Hawkins here. Writing from Alaska at the moment, but living in the Birmingham, Alabama area. A couple of years ago you conducted a seminar for us in Northfield, Birmingham and we enjoyed it very much and learned a lot. Since I have seen you last, our Northfield church has purchased a beautiful building in Halesowen and we are now fully registered. Thanks for all your help. I still enjoy getting your bulletins. ~ A Yank for Christ

PS - Have you had any Jamaican patties since?
04/06/10 @ 03:07