How managers can set realistic expectations about their teams capabilities
“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”- Harold S. Geneen
Managers are a perfect example of leaders, whose attitude and actions influence the success of their team mates. However, the task of a manager is not as simple as it sounds. Being leader to the people a manager’s action, decisions and attitude have a great impact on the success of many people.
The most crucial part of a manager’s job is setting goals. Well, not just goals but “realistic goals”. Reviewing and resetting goals is of utmost importance in today’s competitive world. In fact, goals can and should be revised and reviewed as often as it can be.
A very welcome change seen in business world is a gradual shift from “goal setting” to “expectation setting”. This helps managers in resetting the goals and develops a more cordial relation between managers and employees.
The whole expectation saga is pretty complex and striking the correct cord is very essential. In this article let us discuss some points which will help managers (present and future) to set their expectation barometer appropriately.
1. Be clear- Managers need to be crystal clear and simple in conveying their expectation to the employees. When the employee knows what exactly is expected of him, his task automatically gets simpler. When one knows where needs to go it is easier to find a path to reach the destination.
2. Explain- Reason out to the employees why a task needs to be done, and what impact will their job have on the organization as a whole. This will give them a clear picture of their role and help them in understanding the importance of the work to be done. Only when a employee knows his role clearly, the manager can set his expectations on him.
3. Communication- Communication and more communication is what a manager should do. It is of great help in managing the expectation graph successfully. Frequent communication with the team helps in managing delays and risks and also develops a sense of trust among the team members. Healthy communication often fills the gap between the manager and the team and as a result the employees look up to the manager in a more dependable manner.
4. Listen to your employees- Being leader or manager does not mean that you talk and others listen. A good manager is one who is all hears to his employees. Listening to the employees on a daily basis and giving them a chance to voice their opinion in important matters, will help managers in knowing what goes on in their minds. This will give an insight about the capabilities, thinking and expectation of the employees also. Thus, a manager can accordingly set his own expectations as well.
A key point to remember while setting expectations is to be flexible. Adjusting the short comings of the employees and encouraging them towards doing better will help the employee in achieving what is expected of him. Check www.mongrov.com to know more about setting realistic expectations and tips to boost team capabilities for streamlining business processes to improve productivity in the workplace.
PS: Want to know how Mongrov can be the right fit for your enterprise communication need? Know more about us click here. For any questions, suggestions, feedback or comments, please E-mail us at hello@mongrov.com
