Are your expectations still fit for purpose?

How do you keep up when the landscape is shifting? We often have an expectation to continue as planned when really what is being asked of us is to stop and reassess. Sometimes we have to admit that our expectations are no longer suitable for the situation we find ourselves in.

Are your expectations based on a younger version of you? Or on pre-pandemic assumption? Have you kept up with your needs, or are you looking to the past for the answers?

Most people feel clear on their expectations. They know what they want to achieve. They know when they want to achieve it.

And sometimes, those expectations are wholly unrealistic because you assume someone else will act or behave in a certain way.

I've realised this about myself at home. If I don't voice my expectations, how will anyone else know?

Brene Brown beautifully describes our expectations as like a movie that plays out in our head, but no one else knows their part or what character they are playing.

It's the recipe for a box office flop.

Communicate your expectations

As leaders, many of your expectations will be intrinsically linked to work. You'll feel like you have set high standards for your team, and that's certainly not a bad thing.

But what happens when you feel someone in your team isn't meeting those expectations? How do you react? Do you blame them? Or do you ask yourself why?

Sometimes you need to look at how you've communicated your expectations and whether they are still relevant before blaming someone else.

Remember to share your expectations repeatedly. You may feel like you've communicated them clearly - can you say it again a different way? We all hear things in different ways, so showing and reshowing your expectations will help your team understand what's required.

Your team will have their own expectations. What do they expect from you? They'll be people who will want praise and recognition for the hard work they put in. Maybe you're the same? How do people feel when they don't get that recognition?

There is also the danger of expecting others to perform exactly the way you do. This is really common in the workplace. Do you perform in the same way as, say, your CEO? Probably not. If you want something carried out in a particular way, you have to show people explicitly how to do it. 

The final thing to do is to continue revisiting your expectations. Be willing to understand where they come from. And don't be afraid to change them. We're entering a new way of working, which could mean setting new expectations. Refreshing them as a team can only be a good thing.

Make an ass out of you and me

You will have heard me talk about assumptions and how they can make an ass out of ourselves.

Now I ask you to reflect on your expectations. Not with the view that you must immediately lower them. Rather, you need to understand them first before you unconsciously or consciously place them on others.

Expectations left unexamined and unspoken lead to disappointment. Disappointment leads to...well, I'll let you fill in the blank.