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Master Your Game: Expectations That Generate Results

Written by: Jacque Small

Article Overview: Practicing the three steps of setting expectations will reduce your frustration as a leader and will increase the probability of achieving your desired results.

Master Your Game: Expectations That Generate Results

Coaching Experience
Try this exercise: Think of a person that reports to you and write down exactly what you expect of them. If you are having a tough time responding, you are not alone.

Through my experience of coaching both senior executives and new leaders, I often find that they are generally clear on what they want to achieve. However, when asked specifically about what they want from each of their staff, it's a different story. Suddenly, they are not so clear. Often, they are also frustrated with the people they work with but unable to uncover the real reasons why.

One way to increase your chances of achieving successful results is by understanding how to manage expectations.

Expectations
...........expectation. n. to think likely, something anticipated, a reasonable chance;
...........prospect, especially of success or gain.
Expectation is the thought that a likely, anticipated outcome can be achieved. But in order to attain success, the desire for a preferred outcome is not enough. It must also be clearly communicated to others.
According to research by McGill University, there are three steps to successfully defining clear expectations:

1. Clarifying Roles
2. Setting Objectives
3. Defining Behaviours

More about these steps below.


Clarifying Roles
In the workplace, clarifying roles has several layers. The roles you expect people to perform must be clear. It is also vitally important that individuals be aware how their role impacts someone else within the group. Furthermore, clear communication within the group is necessary to ensure that issues are being dealt with. For example, people need to know who holds the authority to make decisions that will move an initiative forward.

Setting Objectives
It is important that people know the importance of an initiative, why it is important, and the impact on the organization or customer of not achieving the target. Some organizations focus on this step to the exclusion of the other two steps.

To have well-defined objectives, it is necessary to establish goals that are aligned with the organization's vision, strategic objectives and business requirements. You must establish very specific outcomes that define optimal performance for each one of these goals.

Clear priorities must also be defined to establish where you would like your employees to focus their attention.

Defining Behaviour
When your employees are working towards the well- defined objectives, how do you expect them to behave? In my experience this is the area where managers feel the most frustration. They are expecting people to work closely together, to support each other, to have a sense of urgency, to have a positive attitude and strong belief in achieving the goal, and to have a commitment to quality. However, the reality often falls short of these expectations.

To clear up any confusion about acceptable behaviour, think about these three challenges and take steps to reverse it. One challenge managers often face is that they are unclear about their own behaviour and how it impacts others. Secondly, perhaps they have not defined, or else have poorly defined, the kind of behaviour that they expect from others. Finally, perhaps the failure is not in defining but in communicating defined expectations.

What does it take to be a star and what is just acceptable performance? The answer to this must be crystal clear to the team. Setting standards for behaviours is an essential step in increasing your chance at success.

Generate Results
An interesting correlation I have found in my work is that managers who are unable to define their expectations of others experience a high level of frustration with others. You can alleviate your distress by understanding the cause.
The next time you are frustrated with the results someone else is producing, ask yourself this question: How well have I defined my expectations of this person?

Follow the three steps for setting clear expectations, communicate clearly with your staff, and your desired results will follow.

Expecting Your Success,

Jacque Small
Catalyst Business Coaching

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  Changing the Game

Article Tags: clarity, desired results



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