I gave birth to my third and last child in early June 2013. As a mom of two little girls, we were expecting a baby boy. However, through several ultrasounds we didn’t have a clear picture of our baby. Uncertain between two genders, I sought for old wives tale; symptoms seem to be pointing to the possibility of having a boy.
When I gave birth to our little girl, I have proven that all believes, cravings preference, belly shapes, or even mommy’s gut feel were wrong. Isn’t that we were expecting too much? Yes, I did. I had a year of pregnancy preparation to alkaline myself, eating less fatty food,took vitamins causing myself weight gain, keep up to doctors appointment and all medical requirements. I even consulted the Chinese calendar and all beliefs that could make our expectation come true. Yet, above all, there is a supreme being, the universe that creates life and here comes a “gift” that is given to me and my family, a cute healthy little girl to complete us.
In organization setting, managers and CEOs have great expectations from their employees. The question is how to measure your success? In reality, it is not only the scope of work or even the performance criteria, but also your employees’ expectations. What matters is the process with which you and your employees arrive there. Expectations drive all of your employees’ actions and decisions. The three components to managing expectations are: Setting expectations, Monitoring expectations, and Influencing expectations.
Parenting a child and managing a business has some similarities when it comes to expectations:
1) Employees and children have fear from failure. Parents and managers who expressed their disappointment or anger could drive their children or employees away from them. They should instead be there to listen and provide guidance.
2) Bring out the best in your employees or your children by supporting their talent and encourage what they are good at. Be happy and satisfied with the outcome instead of criticizing their flaws or to discourage them.
3) Parents and Managers who have high expectations focus too much on the results and tend to neglect the “process” , how far they have come and the rules. Great disappointment occurs when performance of the child or employee does not reach 100% and Parents/Managers overlooked their child’s or employee’s capacity, how hard they have tried, and their achievement.
4) Do not spoon feed or transfer your idea to your child or employee wishing they would think and behave like you. Leaving them no room to think by themselves would result to high stress and negative behaviour.
An old management saying is: “You cannot manage what you don’t measure.” Common measurement tools are e.g. sales targets, league standings, satisfaction surveys, click-through rates, and in project work, e.g. “percentage complete”, “estimate to completion”. You cannot manage expectations unless you monitor them. That requires listening, hearing, and understanding your employees. Managed expectations drive your success!
