Leadership — Expectations & Aspirations Management (Part-2)

This blog post is an outcome of an informal discussion at ThoughtWorks around managing peoples’ expectations and aspirations, and how they could be converted into measurable goals. The post is split in two parts. This is the part-2. Please refer to Part-1 here.

In the first part of this blog post, we discussed about Criteria and the Anti-patterns of Expectations management. In this instalment, I attempt to provide some concrete measures to achieve our goals.

Setting Up

As a leader, whether you are joining a new team or a new member is joining yours, the first few weeks are crucial as they pave the way to a lasting perception. We ought to remember that Leadership is more a responsibility than a position of power. This makes the first impression critical.

Although I am not a big fan of strict processes, I see value in setting up some basics. Starting with a shared, one-on-one document to journal a team member’s expectations and aspirations is a good start. It could be a free text document, but my advice is to use something with the following sections:

1. Concerns of the New Team member: Whether one joins a new company or a new team, there is a burden of proving oneself. Capturing and addressing the top concerns helps induce psychological safety in them.
2. Hopes, Expectations & Aspirations: This is perhaps the most important one. I have found capturing this data crucial in figuring out project/organisation fit. There may be some glaring gaps between what the team needs and what an individual wishes.
3. Goal Setting: This is no different than any agile project planning activity. We have a big watch tower far away, and we break the journey up in smaller steps that are achievable and measurable. But a goal without a time limit is just a wish. So it’s paramount to set an end time. e.g. for an intern, one could set a one month goal of getting up to speed with one aspect of the project like the front end, while he or she gains the domain context.

Following Up

Now that the initial set up is done, there are some simple and recurring measures one can take to be on course.

1. Expectations’ management usually works better when all parties get involved in creating them. I like the saying: ‘students support what they help create’. Inviting teams and individuals to be a part of the process inculcates transparency and accountability.
2. What is important should be said loudly and often. Once the mutual expectations are set between the leader and the team, one should find new and creative ways to state them as frequently as possible. It may help to post the team goals on the standup wall, physical or virtual. This reinforces the values.
3. What gets rewarded, is repeated. This is a key motivator for the team. Finding ways to reward behaviours and actions that practice the expectations management goals is important. It’s important to avoid being cheesy or corny, but an authentic expressions helps encourage such behaviour.
4. In candid team times, one can play a game called ‘What’s it’s like to be … on the other side of me?’ It’s mentioned in Jeff Henderson’s Growing Leaders ideas. It provides time for two parties to interact honestly about how the other comes across. It raises self-awareness on a team and always tends to clarify expectations.
5. A leader should not expect all the team members to like him or her, or be comfortable confiding their concerns. Hence, having delegates and liaisons within the team allays the dictatorial concerns of some.
6. An informal setting is sometimes the best and conducive environment for honest discussions. Inebriation sometimes helps (not wanton though). This is because in formal meetings, there is a fear of blame games and unnecessary accountability. Informal setups release such pressures and people usually tend to open up.
7. Effective teams over-communicate. It’s OK to ask for confirmations and have clarity of understanding in the goals for expectations management. As such, it’s good to ask twice than to lose your way once.

There are many more to go, but the above ones I have seen very useful practically. Of course, these are not exhaustive. So keep reading, learning and sharing.