Expectations: one person’s bare minimum, another person’s max effort

“Expectations are the foundation for preparation and success”

-Nathan Jamail, Keynote Speaker, Bestselling Author

Why Expectations Matter

Have you noticed, that with all of the communications tools we have today, communication is still a top issue for many organizations?  One of the main reasons is great communication is not about the tools themselves, rather it is about how effective we leaders use the communication tools we have.  The biggest example of this are expectations.  Expectations are how leaders help team members understand what their boss expects of a job; ideally as detailed as possible including what it looks like if expectations are not met.  Expectations are about behaviors and activities specifically, not job descriptions or MBO’s (Management by Objectives).   Expectations give a team member the foundation for preparation and allows team members to be creative to exceed their bosses expectations and excel in their job!

The Difference Between Expectations and a Job Description

Many leaders confuse a job description with expectations. A job description includes the bare minimum of a job such as: must be able to perform computer tasks, must be able to perform customer service via the phone, must be able to report to work by 8am, etc.   

Expectations are how a leader expects the employee to prepare and perform their job.  Examples: – Greet a customer within 5 seconds of entering the store. Return phones call within 5 hours, or before the end of day, everyday. Always bring your smile to work; no bad days at the office, or “Home office”, in today’s environment, etc.   

A job description is about the job title and minimum understanding or scope of the job.   And expectations are based on one’s effort and execution of the job description.  No matter the salary or title, all professionals need and deserve expectations from their boss. I have found that all committed and successful employees want to know what their boss expects.

Side note* Working remotely or virtually does not remove the need for expectations, in fact it make them 10 x’s more important.

The Difference Between Expectations and MBO’s (Management By Objectives)

MBO’s are results, and expectations are based on activities and effort.  A leader cannot coach or prepare a person based on just MBO’s because by the time the results are in, it is too late to change direction or to change past effort.  We reward, recognize and pay based on MBO’s but we must coach and lead with expectations.  When a leader only uses MBO, they are merely tracking the results versus affecting them.  MBO’s tell us if we won the game, but expectations tell us how to win the game.  Essentially, expectations are about preparation and effort to ensure we meet or exceed our MBOs.

Without Expectations We Cannot See True Accountability and Genuine Recognition

Now knowing the difference between job description and expectations, we also now know that expectations are the prerequisite for inspection.  An employee cannot be held accountable if they did not truly understand what their boss expected.

Example: think of the differences between your best employee and worst employee.  Most likely a key difference is based on their efforts and behaviors, not the actual job tasks.  Both employees can do the same job tasks and yet one does it better; maybe because they are happy & committed and they go the extra distance, always looking for ways to make an impact.  Whereas the other less successful employee is doing the bare minimum. Expectations are not just about correcting bad or unacceptable performance, it is also just as important for allowing us to reward & recognize great effort and success.   Top performers know what is expected so they strive to over achieve in order to be successful and recognized for their extra effort.  This is important, so that as a leader, we can recognize effort as much as (or sometimes more than) what is shown on paper alone.

Final Thoughts

The most basic (yet most important) form of communication is a leader’s expectations, but very few leaders really spend time in creating expectations and communicating them consistently.  The most common excuse I hear from leaders to justify why they don’t is, “I hire highly paid professionals, and they know how to do the job and what needs to be done.”  But here is a truth: the higher the pay and bigger the title, the more important the clear understanding of expectations are.  Most leadership issues are seen at the front level, but they are created at the highest level.  Expectations are not about fixing something that is broken, it’s about making something that is good even better.

Where to start?  Look at what your best employee does that other’s don’t, and make those differences in effort your basic expectations.   Lastly understand that your top performers will use the expectations as the bare minimum, as a bar that they plan to exceed every time.  Your  struggling employees will use it as their max effort, something they have to do to keep their job.  This tells you everything you need to know as a leader, about which employees we need to recognize and grow and which employees we need to correct and move up or move out!    As leaders, just like in life, we will get what we expect.