Clear Expectations, Better Results
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Have you ever been frustrated with work from your team and coworkers that does not meet your expectations? Better question: how often has that happened?
I’m equally certain you’ve found yourself working hard toward what you believed was a shared goal, only to find much of your work useless, as you misunderstood the end goal or your role in achieving that goal.
Both situations have happened more than once in my career, and each time, I was accountable.
As a leader, it is your role not only to establish a vision but also to ensure that you and your team are aligned with the vision and the action plan. There are obvious means to clarify expectations: establishing a system of weekly goals with checkpoints, written action items summarizing meetings, and even requesting that each team member explain what they understand their next steps to be.
But is that enough?
The key to setting and clarifying expectations lies not just in repetition but in understanding. When establishing the overarching vision, as well as its milestone objectives, it is your responsibility to ensure that your team truly shares your interpretation of that goal. You’ve hired smart people; if they share your vision and objectives, they’ll get there. Open that meeting up; encourage questions, objections, and discussions. Time spent on the front end making certain everyone is clear on the objective and your expectations of theirs, others’, and your own contributions to that objective, will save considerable time that might otherwise be wasted on misdirected effort and do-overs.
Likewise, we are all accountable for ensuring we understand where a team or organization leader is going, how we are expected to contribute, and the timeframe given to complete our individual tasks. If you’re not clear, ask questions!
Great leadership takes practice. It also necessitates more than a few mistakes before we get it right! I’m sure you can think of a few examples of misunderstood objectives from which you’ve learned. I would very much like to hear about your favorite means of confirming shared expectations; please email me with your thoughts.
All the best,
Tracey
Fundamental of the Week #15: SET AND RECEIVE CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
Communicate your expectations clearly; make sure people hear what you are asking. Take care to understand what’s expected of you.
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