Clear Expectations

By: Guy Harris

Poor performance, turnover, conflict and disengagement. This reads like a checklist of most leaders’ worst fears. I know, because they get mentioned to me nearly every day when I talk with, coach, consult with and train leaders.

And while there is no single silver bullet answer to solve all of these problems, there is one major component common to all: unclear or mismatched expectations.

For optimum performance and strong relationships, make sure expectations are crystal clear in these four areas...

The work itself. People need to know exactly what is expected of them for the work itself. What levels of work quality are required? What defines successful completion of work? What are the boundaries on responsibilities?  What are and what aren’t the roles of the job? For optimum performance and strong working relationships, these must all be clearly understood and mutually agreed to.

The communication. How do we communicate? About what? When? How often? Communication is a critical component of organizational life and is far too important to leave to chance. If you want to improve the communication in your organization, spend some time clarifying what is expected in your communication.

The time. What does “I need it Friday” mean? Does it mean it is on my desk at the start of my day or is the close of business fine?  Does it matter when people work or how they work? Without clarity here, people could either be on their email device 24/7 striving for immediate response, or at the other extreme assuming a couple of days is fine for that request.

The culture. People don’t work in a vacuum – the workplace itself is an important component of the work itself. When people are hired, they bring their past experience and habits with them. If those experiences and habits differ from “the way things are done around here”, there will be mismatched expectations. Help people see that understanding and matching their behavior with cultural expectations, while more subtle than some other factors, is incredibly important to their success.

To create great performance, improve employee satisfaction and engagement and reduce the incidences of workplace conflict, spend more time on setting clear expectations.

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/7313/8055/8312/2013-10.pdf

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