Expectation Setting: Good or Bad for Team Performance?
Expectations are a large part of the language we use in business. We expect outcomes from our team members, from our strategy and from our businesses. We also hold expectations of ourselves, often unspoken.
Does expectation setting bring out the best performance in people and in ourselves? Don’t teams need goals?
Goals are directional outcomes we and our teams strive towards. Expectations, on the other hand, weigh heavily on people. When we say, “you should do this,” or “you shouldn’t do that,” then people either live up to or fall short of expectations.
Expectations may be a rigid expression of a drive for stability when the journey of being in business is one of change and managing impermanence. Our desire for stability, security and comfort may drive expectations of ourselves and team members in ways that work against best performance. Why? Because it sets up a mindset of either success or failure.
We lead teams within our strategic frameworks to achieve our organization’s vision. Goals are objectives we strive to achieve to realize the vision. Values are how we work together to achieve the vision.
So, what if instead of expectation setting, leaders worked with their teams to co-create the goals and objectives, whenever possible?
When we set goals together, believe in and develop people, hold regular work sessions with our team where progress is reviewed -- obstacles are overcome. When we reward lived values, no “expectations” are needed.
Sherri McArdle is a wife and mother to adult children and has been a business leader/owner for over 25 years. She is also a Master Certified Coach (MCC) to leaders and executives across the country and a trained mediator.
