Past Performance Predicts Future... Or Does It?

In the hiring process, it is common practice to predict a candidate's potential success by considering his past performance. It makes sense; what other data do we have?

We do this past-predicting-future exercise in other areas of life as well, such as when engaging a contractor to work on the house, taking on a teammate, or predicting the actions of our family members.

I assert that looking only at past performance misses an important dimension--the person's self-awareness and willingness to learn. My assertion applies not only when looking outward at someone else, but also when looking in the mirror.

Consider how often we say "I always..." or "I can't..." or "I am someone who..." These are all ways of describing past performance. For example:
* I always end up putting my foot in my mouth during a visit with my mother-in-law.
* I can't ever remember people's names after I meet them.
* I am one of those people who is always late.

Notice that we tend to use present tense in such statements, predicting our future behavior by our past performance.

While it may be undesirable to speak poorly or forget names or be late, it's familiar and expected. No effort is required; we may continue on auto-pilot. And everyone around reinforces us with comments and actions that say, "That's just the way he is."

What if we shifted our self-descriptors to past tense? Then the statements above become:
* In the past, I have sometimes put my foot in my mouth during visits with my mother-in-law.
* In the past, I have struggled to remember people's names after meeting them.
* In the past, I was late so often that it's what people came to expect of me.

These statements are more true than the present-tense ones, because the supporting data all happened in the past.

These statements are also empowering, as they allow for the possibility of a different future outcome. But only if we are willing to stand in the bright light of self-awareness and face the fear of failure to learn new behaviors.

In coaching, we consider past behaviors for what we can learn from them. Then we design a better future and walk a path to bridge the two.