Managing Expectations.
Being clear and explicit with what we and others expect.
Why manage expectations?
Did you know one study found nearly half of employees have no idea what’s expected of them at work?
Another found employees spend 4 hours a week managing miscommunications due to not knowing what is expected of them.
That’s why managing others' expectations is so important.
What are ‘expectations’?
Knowing what others expect of you, and what you expect of others at work.
As in, when we know what’s expected of us, we can meet others' expectations.
When you aren’t clear, you’re less likely to be confident, know what to work on, and you can even end up working on the wrong things out of miscommunication.
That’s why managing expectations is so important.
What are examples of expectations?
Expectations can be:
Performance: knowing what to work on and what to prioritise.
Behavioural: understanding the expectations of how you behave in your team or workplace.
Relationship based: knowing ‘who’s who’ and who is important at your workplace.
Communication styles: how to communicate with one another to get work done.
When do you manage these ‘expectations’?
There are three useful times to manage the expectations of others:
Before you start working on a job. Making sure you’re both clear on what it is you’re supposed to do, why you’re doing it, and the intended impact helps you know what to focus on.
Equally, understanding the scope (how much work to do and what not to do) helps you prioritise the right work.
Progressing through the job. Sharing a ‘work in progress’ to the person you’re working with or reporting to, gives them confidence you’re on the right track.
Equally, if you’ve missed the mark, or there’s been a miscommunication, you can easily rectify it as you’re checking in before the deadline.
At the end of a task. Sharing a review, retrospective, results recap or summary of your work helps outline what you achieved, how it helped others involved or the organisation, and the results are a great way to show impact.
How do you manage ‘up’?
When you take an ‘order’ from someone more senior to you, you are managing their expectations. This is called managing ‘up’.
When you are managing your boss’ expectations, or someone more senior to you, like a client or department head, it’s useful to take ‘a reverse brief’.
A reverse brief is a self-managed checklist of what others expect of you.
A great reverse brief makes it clear to both parties what is expected. It also gives everyone clarity on what to prioritise, how to achieve that, and becomes a checklist for success.
If and when you’re on the receiving end of an unclear instruction, you take responsibility for finding out what your stakeholder needs by asking them.
How do you manage ‘down’?
When you give a task to someone who reports to you or is more junior to you, this is called managing ‘down’.
When you give someone a task, instead of telling them what to do, share your instructions and ask them to repeat back to you what they heard.
This is called making an ‘agreement’. Getting them to replay back to you what they understand minimises disagreements.
In our Leadership Programmes, we teach these lessons.
Leaders get a guide to managing up, down and sideways, and leave with practical techniques to manage expectations, before, during and after a piece of work.
They also get tips on what to do when things go wrong and how to turn things around.
The result is that leaders have practical tools to lead.
Future leaders can communicate with authority. First time leaders can manage performance. Established leaders can lead their culture.
What could your leaders achieve at work if they had the tools to confidently lead teams for results?
Leadership Training
For future, first time, and established leaders.