Managing Expectations at Work for Managers and Leaders

Within organizations and in life in general, setting and managing expectations is essential to success. In fact, the failure to set clear expectations is what ultimately leads to disappointment, underperforming, missing deadlines and the list of misses goes on.

As a leader, you need to be able to establish and communicate clear and achievable expectations. It’s one of the cornerstones of your job, and it’s the best way for you to ensure you're holding your people accountable in a meaningful way. Expectations provide guidelines and goals, allowing all parties to understand what is required of them to achieve successful, desired outcomes.

If you are having trouble with employees who are not meeting your expectations, you might want to look in the mirror first—have you set clear and proper expectations to set them up for success? Are you communicating what you expect, with timelines, and providing some context so your people can deliver accordingly?