Expectations are an important part of any relationship. If two people have different expectations on the outcome of a certain situation then they have both sown the seeds of conflict. As a leader it is your responsibility to make sure that expectations are clearly defined and communicated, both your expectations on the group and groups expectations on you as a leader.
Communicating Expectations
Leader expectations can vary widely, there is no obvious right or wrong. Different leadership styles and personalities will bring with them different expectations. The leader clearly needs to state to the group which norms and behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable. When the leader communicates this, it should be done to the whole group at the same time, for example in a weekly team meeting. This ensures that the whole team receives a consistent, unambiguous message and that the team is given a clear signal that the leader is not singling anyone out or playing favorites.
A leader will and should have individual expectations on different members of the group. The appropriate forum for communicating these expectations are in a performance management or “quality time” forum.
When it comes time for the individuals of the group to communicate their expectations on the leader, this should be done in both a public forum and a private forum.
In the public forum, such as the team meeting the more vocal members of the group will be the greatest contributors. Their views may or may not represent the views of the majority of the team. The leader must be careful not to jump to conclusions about what is said in this forum since it may not be representative of the whole group.
The public forum gives the other team members the opportunity to reflect on the other team members views. They can choose to agree or disagree and they may or may not do so in the public forum. The important thing at this stage is not to have everyone contribute, but to give every team member the opportunity to reflect and think about their own personal expectations.
When the leader gathers the team members individual expectations in a private forum, this should NOT be done in conjunction with an evaluation of the employee’s performance. The leader should try to help the employee overcome the urge to give a “right” answer when it comes to expectations, i.e. one that the leader wants to hear. It is only when the leader is able to find out the real deep seated values and expectations of the employee, that he or she can use that knowledge in order to create a highly efficient team.
