Some managers assume people know what to do, what to say, how to behave, etc. Some managers don’t even think about such expectations until someone disappoints him. He may be surprised by it. Or even angry. Often taking it as a personal affront.
Sometimes though, he is hesitant to say anything to the offenders. He may put it off until the behavior is repeated. Again. And again. Pushing the manager’s patience until he erupts. Then the offender gets offended! Maybe even angry that the manager didn’t say something sooner. A chain of unfortunate events. Each one wasting precious time and energy. Each one a ding or even a gouge in productivity and morale.
Easy to see the truth in our Quote of the Week: #1 Killer of Productivity.
What if the manager took some time to think things through, determine expectations in advance and share them with people in advance?
Here’s a great example from a Business Class interview with Joy Hakan, who worked with several different chancellors at UNC Chapel Hill and with her husband, Joe, who was a successful architect and business man. In the interview, Joy shared many stories about managers and leaders she had observed over the years – stories from which the rest of us could learn – helping us be better managers.
One of the stories was about The Siena Hotel, which she and Joe built. She said that on opening day, Joe made a speech to the employees that went something like this:
“When you come to work each day, you are just like an actor. You put on a happy face. You don’t bring your troubles with you and dump them on the guests. You act in this role until you get off work each day. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t want to work here.”
Listen to Joy tell the story here.
I’ll close with two questions:
1. What are your expectations?
2. Are you making them clear to others?
Listed below are resources to help you make expectations clear so that you get BETTER Results:
