Research on High Performers Yields Practical Tips

for Business Leaders, Parents, and Teachers

By Dr. Thomas K. Connellan, Author

Everyone knows someone who’s under-performing. It might be in the classroom, in the office or on the soccer team. I was cCurious about how to turn those situations around , I and started studying high performers. That’s when In doing so, I disccovered an amazing pattern.

Most of the people listed in Who’s Who are first born. So are 55% of our Supreme Court justices and . As are more than half our presidents. Tests of nursery school, kindergarten, and day-care children showed that, on average, firstborns scored , on the average, 3.5% higher in creativity than did later-born children. A ten-year study of superior Wisconsin ninth graders showedfound that most of them are firstborn. Forty five percent of the female world leaders between 1960 and 1999 were first born. Even an 1874 study in England showed firstborns overrepresented among fellows of the Royal Society – their distinguished scientific community.

But, if you’re not first born, you shouldn’t worryDon’t worry or get upset, however, if you aren’t a firstborn . There are exceptions. We all know firstborns who are bums and laterborns who have done very well for themselves. You may be a high performing laterborn yourselfor get upset and here’s why. First of all, I know that some of you are saying “well, I have a cousin who’s a bum and he’s a first born.” That’s one category of exception that shows up – the bum who’s a first born.

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I also know that others of you are saying “I’m not a firstborn and I seem to have done pretty darn well for myself.” That’s the other exception that shows up. Laterborns who are high performers – and you’ll see in a minute why that occurs. Madame Curie, Martin Luther King, Margaret Thatcher, andor Johnny Carson are four more exceptions in this grouping because none of them are all laterborns.

So why is it that in spite of the exceptions, when you look at the study after study, firstborns – as a group – perform at higher levels than laterborns?

It turns out parents are unconsciously brilliant in raising firstborns. There are They use three waysfactors in which parentsto create a slightly different environment for their firstborns. I and it’s these three things that explain the performance difference. BeingBeing firstborn per doesn’t reallydoes not matter!

What matters is the different environment created by the presence of the three factors. Here’s the key. Once you understand how to reproduce these three elements, you can boost your own achievement level and the achievement of level of those around you.

You can use the three factors to Want to boost your child’s grades? Use the three, to help them study more or to study harder. factors. Want them to study more? Use the three factors. Study harder? The three factors. The same thinggoes for with sports.

Oh, and here’sHere’s the best part. Use of the three factors to boost performance is not limited to kids. That’s why the subtitle of my new book (Bringing Out the Best in Others!) is “3 Keys for Business Leaders, Educators, Coaches, and Parents.”

, and I’m frequently asked what it takes to bring out the best in others. When I was first asked that question I had just started research into why firstborn children have historically been more successful than their siblings. For example, two-thirds of all small business owners and more than half of all U.S. Presidents have been first children.

I knew there was something that was making firstborns outperform others. That question, and the surprising answers I found, led me to write my latest book, Bringing Out the Best in Others: 3 Keys for Business Leaders, Educators, Coaches and Parents.

I discovered three unique ways that a new parent raises their first child, and found that people in lots of different situations – a small business, a classroom, a team – can adapt their behavior to boost the performance of even the most difficult person.

Generally, a new parent has more positive expectations for their first child, gives him more responsibility at an earlier age, and provides constant and detailed feedback. By “leading like a new parent,” managers, teachers and coaches can change an under-performer into an achiever! The keys to bringing out the best in another person are giving lots of (and the correct type of) feedback, slowly introducing new responsibility and letting it be known that you expect that person to succeed. More details about these keys are discussed in my latest book.

I found that these three “keys” are universal.,not specific to raising a first child. They work because they focus on changing behavior. If you apply them, they’ll bring out the best in anyone – whether in business, school, community service, or the home. Not everyone can be great, but most of us can be better than they we are. , and Bbringing it out boils down to the three keys.: Expectations, responsibility and feedback. In short, believe in them, hold them accountable and give them supportive feedback.

What are these three keys? Well, I found the three ways in which parents treat their firstborn differently are: parents use with their firstborns:

1. They have higher expectations for the firstborn. It’s the firstborn who’sFirstborns are going to be president of the senior class or captain of the tennis team.

2. They give them more responsibility – particularly at an earlier age. Firstborns get the money to let all the siblings into the movies for example.

3. Firstborns get more feedback. WeParents generally take more pictures of their firstborn.

In next month’s column, I’ll talk about the three different kinds ofhow feedback and explain what kind you should use in different situations. In the meantime, feel free to send questionscan jump-startboost performance. or comments about this month’s topic to me in care of: Bard Press, 5275 McCormick Mtn. Dr., Austin, Texas 78734. In the meantime, check out my research with your neighborsthe people you know.. See if they agree with howthat firstborns getare treated differently.

© 2003 Thomas K. Connellan. About the Author: Dr. Connellan is a researcher and author focusing on peak performance. He is author of the New York Times Bestseller, Bringing Out the Best in Others! 3 Keys for Business Leaders, Educators,Coaches and Parents. The first two chapters can be downloaded for free at