Great Expectations. I’m certainly not much for the book. But, then again, I’m no English major. No one will confuse me with my Ph.D.-to-be daughter, the English Major Extraordinaire (I can’t even read her papers – way over my head.) My memory of Great Expectations was suffering through it in high school English class, which was akin to having a debilitating migraine complicated by a third-degree sunburn on the top of your feet.

Great expectations in the workplace, on the other hand, is a whole different ballgame (ahhh…a sports metaphor – something I can understand). In fact, creating clear expectations with employees can be the difference between an effectively functioning workplace and a serious mess.

Unfortunately, most managers – by their own admission – don’t set or communicate expectations very well. Instead, they often simply assign work or projects without creating performance measurements or expectations. The result is often a considerable amount of frustration on both sides. In fact, if performance expectations aren’t clearly communicated, how can a manager effectively manage or critique performance?

You Must Set a Performance Standard

Consider this common example from an analogous situation: Early on, parents learn about the dangers of failing to establish expectations when they ask their kids to “clean their rooms.” In the absence of clear expectations for what a “clean room” looks like, the results of that request often lead to a simple question: “Uh, what exactly did you pick up?”Until the performance result is clearly defined, kids are left to interpret what “clean your room” means to them, and the same is true for employees – although, admittedly, not usually to the same degree.

Without a clear performance standard, the employee may be willing to accept a result less than what a manager has in mind. Without performance standards and measurements, it is difficult to assess performance, coach improvements, or even hold an employee accountable. Further, without clearly communicated expectations, performance assessment becomes mostly subjective; like competing in the 100-yard dash without timing the event. Sure, you know who won, but was the performance average or exemplary? Can we get better or is that the best we can do?

To see where you stand, ask yourself these questions:

• Do your employees know exactly what is expected of them?
• What measurement do you use to assess performance?
• Is the measurement readily available?
• How often do you assess performance?
• Do you train (and coach) for improvements against a standard of performance?

I know that every aspect of workplace performance cannot be graded, nor should it be. However, without defining clear performance expectations in some area of an employee’s work, you are setting yourself up for a confrontation that will create more problems that it ever hopes to solve.

Tagged as: Expectations, performance