Have you ever worked for a manager that was great at coming up with new and exciting projects and ideas? Each time there was a new project you got overwhelming excited and passionate about your job. Then they told you their timeline and you realized that they had completely unrealistic expectations of how quickly that project would be able to be completed. Then you were instantly panicked and disappointed because you knew you would not have time to complete the project to the level of quality that you expected of yourself.
I get to do a lot of recruiting and believe it or not, candidates tell me about this scenario all of the time. In this scenario employees feel that time is not valued, and that they are not able to take ownership and build successful projects for their teams. Most employees truly want to help build the company to make it successful. Employees want to have an impact. But when expectations are not managed effectively employees feel undervalued and move somewhere where they will feel valued.
Expectations affect every part of our work and every part of our life. We have expectations of ourselves, our teammates, our customers, our vendors, and even our families and friends. Expectations are something that we all have to keep in check all of the time. A simple example of this is when you go out to eat. If you order your favorite meal from your favorite restaurant, don’t you expect it to be prepared so that it is at least similar, if not the exact same as when you had it previously? If it is not similar to the favorite dish you had in the past wouldn’t you be disappointed? The same thing happens at work. If we don’t fulfill some of our expectations, then we end up being disappointed with our relationships at work and at home.
It is particularly challenging to manage these expectations as a manager or a leader. It is exceptionally easy to forget the time, skills, knowledge, man power and other things required in order to make a project or team successful. So what do we do about this? We communicate!
Open communication with teammates, managers, employees, and even family will help align your expectations with the expectations of those around you. We need to communicate our expectations, and work together to make them align. We have
to work to get on the same page. The easiest time to do this is usually during annual or quarterly reviews. However, this kind of open communication cannot be limited to review time. Often when communication is open and welcomed then employees will naturally navigate to teams and employers that align with their values and expectations.
These unrealistic expectations are directly coordinated with turnover and employee satisfaction. The best way to combat these challenges it so foster an environment that welcomes open and honest communication. If this is something that is a challenge for you or your managers, give us a call! At hr-haven, we focus on developing culture and a big part of culture is communication.