Manage Expectations or Expect to be Managed

In a recent post, I spent some time on change management..which led me to thinking…what happens to our expectations when change happens?

Ex*pec*ta*tion (noun), as defined by Merriam Webster, is the act, state or basis for expecting.

So, what exactly does that mean? Well, it means that if you have expectations, you expect something! Whether the expectation is well-defined, rational, or realistic is entirely another layer which we will get to…

Expectations can be both unconscious and inadvertent as well as overt and cognitive. What we do with these expectations often spells out their positive or negative impact.

If you are a project manager, you are trained to handle the effects of change on project scope, schedule, time or resources and manage project outcomes to meet or exceed stakeholder expectations; since all projects are different to some degree, a project manager must exert conscious effort to learn and earn a flexible toolbelt which can be used to deliver positive project results – regardless of how far reality veers from initial expectation. “Change Control,” a documented tool in the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 4th ed., is defined as “how a PM deals with changes to the project plan.” In other words, an actual tool has been created so that PMs can stay in control of the change.

Managing to change takes experience and skills. Now, imagine if you are not aware that expectations need to be managed! Consider the employer which straddles the fence of changing business needs and employee skills’ adjustment, or the employee who feels as though they can customize their position instead of staying within the one for which they were hired. I don’t even think that works for employees at Build-A-Bear-Workshop! Take also into account the millions of teenagers who get in serious trouble for a messy room, yet were never taught that they were expected to keep it clean or how….

These circumstances, faced by employee and employer or parent alike, can be both predictable and thoroughly manageable…given the right expectations…

Manage Expectations or Expect to be Managed…~David Alev

It really is that simple; thank you, Mr. Alev! In his consulting practice, Alev goes further to state that “expectations are your vision of a future state or action, usually unstated but which is critical to your success.” The operative words being “critical to your success.” I have seen one too many an employer who expects employees’ skillsets to be as flexible as gumby and malleable as taffy when new management comes in or roles need to redefined. Subsequently, you have a team stretched to its limit with low morale and a lot of confusion. I have also known an employee or two whose actual job duties become buried far beneath their expectations of what their job “could” be. Subsequently, they swim in a pool of frustration – losing sight of a job they could actually do well if they simply level set their own expectations and understand the reality of the position. In either case, employer or employee, inaccurate expectations result in losses of productivity and increased levels of micromanagement. Then, everyone wonders why the opportunity to grow is further and further away.Parents can also relate when their attempts at disciplining their teenagers render them frustrated because they expect immediate results without gradual training and expectation-setting.

Project managing your life, career or a project is as much a philosophy you choose as it is a methodology you learn; and learning to expect change and manage expectations are keys to success.

Wishing You Success,
Natalya