Setting and Communicating Clear Expectations

The setting of clear expectations by leaders is essential to focusing behaviors and actions. When I became the senior executive for one of my former employer’s most important business functions, the first thing I did was determine what was most important to our success moving forward.

I identified eight expectations I believed would contribute most to the changed perception we were trying to create. I then took the time to discuss these expectations with my new staff. I provided my team with written copies of these eight expectations, and I requested that this list be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure we were living our commitments on a daily basis.

While leaders may view the circulation of a set of written expectations as going too far, or being too paternalistic, I can tell you that employees appreciate the clarity of knowing what is deemed important by their leaders. The alternative is to remain unsure of what really matters.

For years after sharing my expectations with my team, I would regularly see this original list of expectations posted on file cabinets or other visible places as I conducted my rounds throughout the department.

When it comes to sharing important information, particularly as it relates to how we want to show up or behave around our customers, there is no better substitute for confirming understanding than to write it down and give everyone a copy.