Why managing expectations is essential in management and practical ways how to do that

Expectation management is an important management tool for professionals

Expectations play an important role in the workplace (O’Meara et al., 2016). As a professional you need to know what your organization, your boss and your peers expect from you. The same applies the other way round: Your boss and your peers should we aware of what you expect from them. This process is called expectation management and is a basic management tool you should be comfortable with.

Expectations are rarely addressed in a proactive manner

Unfortunately, expectations are rarely addressed in a proactive manner. This does not only increase the risk of workplace conflicts but can also threaten organizational performance. Why do people frequently neglect managing expectations?

People don't know that expectations are important

There are various reasons why this is the case. First, many people just don't know why it is important to talk about interpersonal issues such as expectations. When things are not on the radar, they are simply not considered as important and thus are not addressed.

People put hard topics first

Second, in many organizations “hard topics” such as product or process related issues are ranked higher on the agenda than interpersonal issues. This especially applies to an organizational culture that is inclined towards masculinity. Talking about soft topics such as expectations is seen as not value-adding or even as a weakness in such a cultural environment.

People find it hard to switch to a relationship-level discussion

Third, talking about expectations requires to move from a content-level discussion to a relationship-level discussion. Trust on an individual level and psychological safety on a team level are important prerequisites to openly addressing expectations and aligning them in a constructive way. Establishing trust and psychological safety requires a great deal of work and a lack of both makes it hard for people to switch to a relationship-level discussion.

What are expectations?

Expectations are a kind of mental model that defines how we expect things to be and to develop over time (Woodman and Tolchinsky, 1982). However, how those mental models look in detail is not just a result of our individual preferences.

What we expect is strongly influenced by who we are, how we were raised and what we have experienced in our private and professional life. Therefore, expectations are by no means objective and thus can’t be right or wrong by definition. This makes it even more important to align and manage expectations proactively.

Why it is important to manage expectations?

Why should you care about expectations and manage them? As mentioned earlier, there is a clear connection between expectation management and performance. For instance, expectation between an employer and an employee are covered in so called psychological contracts (Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019). When there is significant misalignment of expectations covered in the psychological contract, important outcomes such as job performance, organizational commitment and job satisfaction are undermined (ZHAO et al., 2007).

How does expectation management work?

There are a set of easy to implement measures that help you to implement a sound expectation management process. We’ll briefly address five must-know guiding principles to effectively manage expectations:

1. Don’t assume that expectations are aligned. Talk about them and write them down.
2. Every role in an organization has expectations connected to it. Make sure that they are updated as job demands change.
3. Think of who you need to talk to about expectations on a regular basis. Stakeholders don’t remain the same but change over time.
4. You can’t manage expectations just by talking about them. Write them down, visualize them and repeat, relate and reframe them on a regular basis to make them persistent.
5. Keep in mind that expectations can relate to some sort of outcome in the short- medium- and long term. You need to manage all three dimensions to be effective.

Don’t assume that expectations are aligned. Talk about them and write them down.

As previously stated, there is a natural tendency in organizations to not talk about expectations. Thus, your first step to effectively manage expectations is to be aware that they are important but rarely addressed. Take the first step and talk about them. In many cases it even makes sense to write them down and make them available beyond your discussion.

Every role in an organization has expectations connected to it. Make sure that they are updated as job demands change.

Organizations rely on people that act according to the roles and responsibilities assigned to them. While there is usually a common understanding of expectations connected to specific roles, they may vary depending on organization, industry and people involved. You need to make sure that expectations are clear to everybody and updated once job demands change.

Think of who you need to talk about expectations on a regular basis. Stakeholders don’t remain the same but change over time.

Organizations are networks of people. Over time those networks change. People move to different positions; people leave the organization and people from outside the organization are hired. Some of those people are important stakeholders you need to keep up to date on your objectives, activities, and progress (Luoma-aho et al., 2013). As those people change, expectations might change as well.

You can’t manage expectations just by talking about them. Write them down, visualize them and repeat, relate and reframe them on a regular basis to make them persistent.

Talking about expectations is already a good first step. However, to make them available for people that where not directly involved in the discussion you need to somehow document and visualize them. In addition, you should repeat, relate and reframe the most important expectations on a regular basis. As a consequence, those expectations will become part of your organizations sense-making process.

Keep in mind that expectations can relate to some sort of outcome in the short- medium- and long-term. You need to manage all three dimensions to be effective.

Expectations are future oriented and thus always have a time dimension. Effective expectation management addresses short-, medium-, and long-term expectations. Make sure you address all three dimensions equally well. Goal-setting and strategy development are important management tools that can help you to manage medium- and long-term expectation.

Expectations matter. It is up to you to manage them properly

Organizations are similar to an orchestra. They require highly capable people who play a complex piece of music in a well-aligned and efficient manner. An important management tool required to achieve such a level of excellence is expectation management.

You want to learn more about the role expectations play in organizations and how to manage them? Feel free to get back to one of our management counselors. We are happy to help.