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| Source: www.howit.com |
Very few people will dispute the fact that managing expectations is critical to the success of any relationship, be it a business relationship, a professional relationship, or a personal relationship. Managing expectations is all about setting the right expectations, communicating those expectations, and meeting the expectations.
A business that manages to balance the customers’ expectations with its product/service emerges successful. Failure to live up to the expectations of the customers, leaves them disappointed At the workplace, employees are rated on how often they exceed expectations, meet expectations or fail to meet expectations; as such, at work people need to manage expectations at different levels. These include:
Setting expectations with your manager
How many times have you felt lost when you have been put on a job and nobody told you how to go on about it? If your manager does not give you clear instructions, it is necessary that you yourself approach your manager and ask specific questions that help you to understand what is expected from you. These could be questions on:
- What is your role on the assignment.
- Where to seek the resources such as information, training, tools, materials, space, money or people needed to do the assignment.
- The expected schedule for reporting milestones and meeting interim deadlines.
- What is the benchmarks for success at the milestone.
- Guidelines or standards that need to be followed and boundaries that need to be adhered to.
Setting expectations with your clients
Businesses are run on the basis of relationship between a firm and its customers. As such it is very important for a business to know and cater to the expectations of their clients. For that every business needs to:
- Anticipate the Client’s Needs.
- Set expectations upfront while cutting down on the unrealistic expectations. If you over promise and under deliver, people will be disappointed , but if you promise too little, people won’t try your product.
- Manage expectations through constant communication.
Setting expectations within your team
Your team’s performance reflects your own performance. As such you need set expectations within your team and communicate those expectations clearly to steer your team towards the right direction.
- Provide Structure, define boundaries.
- Clarify roles.
- Provide your team with resources that they need to accomplish their tasks to facilitate their work.
- Set Motivational goals
Managing your own expectation
Last but not the least managing your own expectation is as important as managing expectations of your clients, your boss, your pears, your family or your friends. Your ability to manage your own expectations will shape your personal brand.
- Set small achievable, measurable goals
- Manage expectations of the outcome. Celebrate each small success but don’t let success rule your head or failure rule your heart.
- Be persistent with your efforts. Step by step move towards the larger target.
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