Several years ago, I worked for a consulting engineering firm. My boss was the president of the company. When I worked for him, I had the privilege of going on field rides with him to review some of our project locations. During our discussions while driving, he taught me a very valuable lesson about the importance of setting expectations. He explained that as the leader of the company, his main priority was to keep the customers happy. To do that, he explained that you must be good at setting expectations. You cannot be afraid to ask follow-up questions to identify the customers’ needs and wants. He taught me that when setting expectations, it was far more important to ask questions during the design process to make the right product. If you don’t ask questions, you run the risk of completely missing the target. Through this approach, we identified and set the customers’ expectations to create products they really wanted.
As a leader, it is very important to understand the value of setting expectations. The following four questions should be asked when you begin setting expectations for yourself and for others.
How are you setting expectations for those you lead?
If you are anything like me, you probably have high expectations for yourself and those you lead. When setting expectations, it is important clear on your desired outcome. Just as with goals, your expectations should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
How have you communicated your expectations?
As a leader, it is important to let those you lead know that you are setting expectations for them. Once you set expectations, there are a number of ways you can effectively communicate them. Some effective methods include email, face-to-face, group meetings, etc. You can ask follow-up questions to make sure those you lead hear and understand your expectations. If they don’t understand your expectations from the beginning, you are going to miss the next two questions.
How do you know those you lead are meeting your expectations?
When setting expectations, you may want to set specific metrics. You may also want to identify when you will follow up and what you will expect at each point of follow-up. From there, it is important to follow through. If you tell people you are going to follow up with them, be sure to follow up with them at the time you are going to follow up with them.
How do those you lead know they are meeting your expectations?
As a leader, you want those you lead to be confident. If you set up a system of setting expectations that are clear and specific, and the follow through, those you lead will have the specific metrics to follow. You can then work with them to create a method to track their progress regularly so they can continue to be successful. When they have specific metrics, they will know their status and begin to feel confident.
Conclusion
Setting expectations is very important because whether or not you have expectations determines the difference between success and failure. When you ask the four questions above, you are able to make your expectations more realistic and keep everyone on the same page. Clear expectations help you, as the leader, and those you lead to be successful.
What do you do when setting expectations for people? How do you effectively communicate them? Why do you feel your communication is very important? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
By asking those questions you are ensuring that people understand what is required of them and that they are accountable for their actions. By following up with them at a time that has been agreed they will know exactly what is expected of them and if they are unable to deliver, alternatives can be agreed. So often I come across people that take no accountability for their actions but perhaps sometimes its because they haven’t understood what was required of them in the first place.
Communication has many, many channels. You can have a 1:1 with someone, they take copious notes, nod their head and leave the meeting with a clear understanding of what is required of them. Then you have the follow up meeting and realise that somewhere along the line understanding got lost. It is sometimes a good idea to have the first follow up meeting quite soon after the main meeting. That at least gives you a chance to get them back on track without too much harm being done and their dignity still intact.
Welcome Catherine,
I like your take on this post. I also like what you added about how to set and follow-up on expectations in a one-on-one setting. Communication is so important when setting expectations. Thank you for taking the time to read this post and share you thoughts!