Reflection Point – Re-considering expectations

A common challenge I hear from the leaders I coach is navigating breakdowns in
communication, often stemming from misaligned expectations. This issue can
manifest in many ways such as performance concerns, frustrations,
disappointments, and recurring misunderstandings.
When we pause to consider, the root cause often lies in the expectations we hold.
Have we truly explored what we expect from others, and equally, what others expect
from us? Expectations are, after all, a two-way street!
Consider for a moment your own awareness around the expectations you hold of
others – in a work context, not just those reporting in to you, but those you may
report in to.
I was listening to what I consider one of the greats of the leadership titles –
“Mastering leadership” (Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams) again recently.
They were talking about the expectations we hold and considering the concept of
implicit and explicit expectations.
They explain that explicit expectations are clearly stated and tied to specific
outcomes, and often outlined in a leader's job description. Implicit expectations,
however, are unspoken and relate to qualities like fairness, inspiration, and
engagement. I find these are often the assumptions we hold of others; an unspoken
standard.

The chapter emphasized that leaders are judged on both types of expectations,
even when the implicit ones are unrealistic or unexpressed. Wow!

This concept of implicit expectations is where I think it gets really interesting in
managing our key relationships. Are we even aware of what our implicit
expectations of others are? Having been made aware – do we reflect on how
reasonable and fair these are – and whether we decide they are important enough to
communicate these and their importance to us?

I may well be oversimplifying this but to my sense of humour this does appear quite
amusing – that we would hold others to standards we decided were important and
yet haven’t actually communicated.

Consider the below reflection questions with relation to expectations…

Question 2

Are you currently making any assumptions based on implicit expectations of
others?

Question 3

(Not assuming or holding implicit expectations here!) – Do you know how you
can have effective conversations about expectations? Let me know if I can
help!