Co-author: Kevin Blair
The last year and half has been full of ups and downs as well as changes big and small for organizations and employees. Organizations had to make overnight decisions that impacted employees company-wide; they changed their processes and systems to address virtual and dispersed employees; and they realigned polices and guidelines several times along the way. Some employees needed to balance work and childcare, increased workloads, and struggles with health issues; others experienced an unexpected step back to a slower pace and work-from-home flexibility. Many employees are somewhere in the middle.
As employees navigated these changing circumstances and created a new normal, many faced gray and foggy expectations for their work. Some employees were sent home to work without clear expectations beyond, “keep doing what you have been doing, just from home.” As we know, it has been far from that simple.
Prior to the pandemic, research from Gallup indicated over half of employees didn’t know what was expected of them at work. Over half. How has the pandemic impacted that number? Research is still emerging, and we know the gap between those who receive clear expectations and feedback and those who don’t is widening. Prior to the pandemic, leaders who excelled in providing clear expectations are now excelling with dispersed, remote and hybrid work and those who struggled previously are finding the new circumstances even more difficult. We also know feedback is even more important to remote workers than in-office workers in terms of engagement. Specifically, the frequency of expectation setting and feedback has a direct impact on remote workers’ engagement levels.
What is the impact if employees do not have clear expectations or receive infrequent feedback? Some employees simply do nothing. They feel disengaged and unimportant, so they check out or do the bare minimum of what is required in their roles. The result is decreased productivity, lower profit, and higher costs for the organization. Other employees continue to work hard, but on the wrong things. In the absence of clear expectations, they make up their own. They pour their efforts into non-relevant projects or turn out deliverables that do very little for the organization’s true mission. In some cases, these misdirected efforts—such as the rollout of a redundant software system or creation of an inaccurate policy—could cost the organization countless dollars and hours to identify and fix.
If the impact to the mission or bottom line of the organization is so drastic, why don’t managers make a more concerted effort to clarify expectations and give feedback on progress? One reason might be lack of time. Workloads and meetings increased since the start of the pandemic, and this led to managers having increasingly less time to meet regularly with their employees. Second, managers may not have a clear picture of the strategy or expectations from their own leaders, making it difficult to cascade instructions down to employees. Finally, fear can also be a factor: fear of not setting expectations effectively, fear of insulting someone’s intelligence, or fear of mishandling a difficult conversation. As a result, managers end up avoiding conversations with employees that need them most.
To meet these challenges, there are several concrete steps leaders can take to ensure employees have clear expectations and are aligned on what is expected of them at work. Setting expectations at both the individual and team level will provide employees defined parameters, examples, and opportunities to clarify any confusion. Managers can use a parallel approach: sharing expectations at the individual level in one-on-one meetings, including project expectations, developmental milestones, and task priorities, and simultaneously at the team level in meetings by discussing how expectations connect to organizational strategy, team priorities, and your leadership values.
When communicating expectations at the individual level, here are a few best practices to try:
Overcommunicate – Patrick Lencioni reveals that individuals need to be reminded of a message or key information seven times in order to make it stick. He also notes that when leaders feel they have overcommunicated a message, they are only halfway done. The human brain is remarkably skilled at forgetting messages; for many this has gotten worse with the burnout and anxiety generated by the pandemic. As a manager, don’t hesitate to use multiple moments and modalities (voice, email, text, Teams…) to share important information.
Ask the employee first, then compare notes – Don’t simply “fire and forget” expectations to team members. Ask employees to reflect back what they heard from you in their own words. By doing so, they’re more likely to remember the expectations and it also gives you a chance to correct any misunderstandings or redirect them before it’s too late.
Stop micromanaging and focus on what success looks like – If you fear of micromanaging—particularly with high-performing employees—focus on the finish line and let them run the race. Ask “what will success look like?” and define it together. If an employee feels ownership in the creation of the final outcome, they will be more motivated to get there. Once the end point is defined, let them create their path to get there, including milestones and timelines when possible.
Check in regularly along the way and give feedback, especially positive – Contrary to what they might tell you, employees need to know the work they are doing is valued and meaningful. Research from John Gottman indicates that people need four to five times more positive feedback than constructive feedback. Be quick to praise accomplishments. Help employees see the bigger picture of how their work fits into the mission of the organization. If an employee needs more help, training, or resources, meet them where they are and adjust the amount of support you’re giving them.
Beyond individual conversations, managers can discuss expectations at the team level. Here are some actions to help clarify expectations and ensure everyone knows what is expected of them.
Lay out your expectations as a leader – If you have not done so already, share your expectations of the team and your vision of success. What are your standards, values, and ideals for your team as a whole? How do you want them to behave, interact, share information, include you and each other, address conflict, and solve problems? This will set the bar for the team and create a solid foundation for each member to know what is expected of them.
Document and share expectations – If it is not written down, it doesn’t exist. For hybrid workers, place your expectations and team norms in a shared virtual space for everyone to access and refer to. This could be a shared document repository, Excel spreadsheet, or database. Employees will take ownership of the expectations if they can clearly see them and refer to them often. Make them accessible, easily updateable, and owned by the team.
Create and follow-through on accountability – Create clear processes for accountability. This could be weekly task updates at team meetings, bi-weekly inputs into a project spreadsheet, or Wednesday posts on Slack. Design a practice and cadence that works for your team given the complexity and rhythm of your work. If you don’t know what would work for your team, ask them for input in creating it, which will increase their buy-in. Once this accountability business rhythm is in place, then the hard work of follow-through begins. Don’t skip meetings when things get busy. Acknowledge the work tempo and stay connected to your priorities and timelines.
Transition accountability from the leader to the team – Hold the team accountable until they begin to hold each other accountable. Team members holding each other accountable to expectations and commitments is the ultimate goal. When they do this for each other and it is appreciated and valued, you have created a high performing team. Share this goal with the team and give them opportunities to work towards it. Model how to have these accountability conversations effectively and with compassion and courage. Can they hold the check-in meeting without you when you are on vacation, instead of cancelling it? Allow them to share the ownership and facilitation of the meeting even when you are present.
Determine where you are currently and where you want to be in terms of setting clear expectations for your team and each person individually. Using the parallel approach and working with both the team and each team member simultaneously will ensure transparency and progress. By maintaining the cadence of these conversations, you will build momentum and see your team evolving in a unified direction.
** This article is the eleventh in a series of twelve addressing common leadership questions. These questions and challenges touch leaders at all levels and transcend industries. The article series provides valuable information and action steps for leaders to take their skills and teams to the next level. Click here to read the full series.
Author’s Note: Special thanks to Kevin Blair for sharing his expertise in coaching leaders and teams and facilitating difficult conversations, as well as his generous contribution in co-authoring this article.