Definition
Expectation is the act of expecting something. If you expect something, you are anticipating it, planning for it, and if you don’t have your expectations met, you are likely to be disappointed. We all expect different things, sometimes without data to back up our reasoning. Sometimes based on prior experiences, or information. Expectations could falsely be based on assumptions or incorrect information. Or they could be based on what was promised, communicated, or agreed on.
My Experience
I’ve reflected on expectations quite a bit over my life and career. I have found that I expect a lot from myself. I set high goals and expect to exceed them. An interesting discovery I made a few years ago was that I have very low expectations from other people. I don’t expect the best or the most effort from them, I believe I do this to prevent myself from being disappointed. If my expectations are low, then it’s easy for others to exceed them and instead of disappointment, I’m surprised and appreciative. This shouldn’t always be my default thinking (something I’m working on). I need to set realistic expectations, and allow room for others to exceed them, just as I do for myself.
The most important part of expectations is ensuring that people are clear on them. We cannot run our lives based on assumptions. We certainly cannot run a successful business without communicating expectations with our employees, co-workers, customers, managers, vendors, etc.
So, how do we set proper expectations? It depends on the situation, but the core components are:
- Deliverables – What will be delivered (provide as much detail as possible to prevent any assumptions or misunderstandings).
- Timeline – When should the deliverables be expected (always try to be realistic with a buffer for potential obstacles).
- Location – Where will you be delivering (is this going to be put into a file, emailed, in person meeting, etc.).
- People – Who will be involved in getting the deliverables (are in of the other factors subject to changed based on contingencies).
- Their Part – What is expected to be returned after the delivery of expected items (sign off, response, feedback, cost, etc.).
It might sound like I’m talking about a project, in some cases, it is a project, small or large. But I see miscommunications about even the smallest of requests from customers, co-workers, managers, vendors, anyone who requests something or asks you to participate in something. Clarification is almost always necessary to ensure that everyone is on the same page. But too often, people are left to assume details, and this almost always leads to misaligned expectations.
Example
Your boss asks reaches out to you and says, “I need you to figure out why we have lost 15 customers over the last 6 months.” You respond, “No problem, I’m on it!”, and get to work. But… what you think your boss was expecting and what they are actually expecting could be two very different things. In this situation, the best response is: “Can we setup a meeting to walk through what you are expecting for this assignment?”. If no, then send your list of questions, if yes, go over all your questions in the meeting. Ensure you have a clear sense of:
- Deliverables – Would you like this in a Presentation, Excel Analysis, Document Summary, or all 3? How much information should be included (deep dive, or high-level summary)?
- Timeline – When is this due? (If you don’t realistically think you can deliver in the stated timeline, ask for more time, or ask if there’s anything on your calendar that you can move or ask someone else to take on while you work on this).
- Location – Where should this be delivered (email, meeting, presentation with leadership, etc.)?
- People – Who will be involved in this assignment (are others needed to help, if so, who, and who all needs this information)?
- Their Part – What is your part in this assignment (are they going to help, do you need them to review and provide feedback, etc.)?
This assignment could have gone terribly wrong if you didn’t get clear expectations and set clear expectations with your boss on what they expected and ensured that was going to be delivered.
Customers
This is especially important when working with customers. Customers are paying you or your organization for a product or service, and if they don’t have clear expectations set by you on what you are going to deliver, or if those expectations are incorrect, it’s going to lead to trouble. In my opinion, it’s the number one cause of unhappy customers – their expectations were not met.
If you think about your own experiences with businesses as a customer, good and bad. Think of your best experience ever – Why was this? Was it because they exceeded your expectations? Maybe… Now think about your worst experience with a business. – Why was this? Did they fail to meet your expectations? I think when you get down to the root problem of customer dissatisfaction, expectation misalignment or businesses failing to deliver on promises is the cause.
I gave a great outline above for ensuring that correct expectations are being set – try it out and strive to always under-promise and over-deliver!
Closing
I challenge you to reflect on situations where you were disappointed. Or when you disappointed someone. How can we prevent this from happening with proper expectation setting and delivering what was agreed on after clarification?
Additionally, what are you expecting?
If you follow me on LinkedIn, you may have noticed that I love quotes that make me think. Here’s some insightful quotes about expectations.
“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.”
– Earl Nightingale
“I’ve learned to not have expectations. If you don’t expect things from anyone, you can’t get let down.”
– Mickie James
“Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.”
– Edward de Bono
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Perceptive Zeal 
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