Do Others Know What You Expect of Them?
It’s hard to work and play well with others if expectations don’t get shared. If both were still alive, today would have been my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary! They were married for 52 years and I was around for 41 of those.
When two people are in a relationship that long there will always be ups and downs and good times and bad. The longevity of any relationship really depends on how well those in the relationship find ways to make it work. One of the things that I noticed when times a got a little rocky between them was that they would forget to share their expectations of each other openly. Instead they just assumed the other knew what those expectation were. A case in point was usually the holiday season. Each would have expectations about what a great holiday season might look like, yet each would never share those expectations with the other. As a result, both were disappointed more often than not.
How many times have you experienced a situation where your boss assumed you knew what was expected or you were a member of a team that just left a meeting assuming everyone knew the assignment – yet those expectations were never openly shared.
Why are we so afraid to share those expectations openly, when not sharing them usually results in hurt feelings?
November 25th, 2009 at 10:05 am
This post really resonated with me – I have that problem a LOT with my boss. he definitely leaves things unsaid – and it is usually unclear as to why thats the case. Thanks for bringing attention to this issue, it definitely is good to have open communication. It also usually results in saving money and other people’s time too!
November 25th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Thanks for your comment Beth!
Being clear on expectations seems to be one of the qualities that we find in great bosses. And you are correct, when direct reports are clear about what’s expected they can be more effective and that usually translates to saving time and money.
All the Best,
DrJohnDrozdal