The set-up-to-fail syndrome describes a self-reinforcing cycle. A manager comes to see an employee as a weaker performer and supervises more closely. The employee, feeling distrusted, withdraws and performs worse, which confirms the manager's view.¹
Where it comes from
INSEAD professors Jean-François Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsoux described the syndrome in Harvard Business Review in 1998, drawing on their research with managers and their direct reports, and expanded it into a book.¹ ² In their account, the cycle often starts small: a missed deadline, a disappointing report, a first impression.
Where it goes wrong
Readers sometimes take it as a case against close supervision. Manzoni and Barsoux were clear that new or struggling people may need extra support. The trouble begins when the extra attention comes with a label the employee can feel.
Talent Takeaway
If you catch yourself checking one person's work more than everyone else's, say so and talk about it: what you have noticed, what you expect, and how you will step back as things improve. Naming the pattern early can break it.
¹ Manzoni, J.-F., & Barsoux, J.-L. (1998). The set-up-to-fail syndrome. Harvard Business Review, 76(2), 101–113.
² Manzoni, J.-F., & Barsoux, J.-L. (2002). The set-up-to-fail syndrome: How good managers cause great people to fail. Harvard Business School Press.
Further reading: Eden, D. (1990). Pygmalion in management: Productivity as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Lexington Books.