Set expectations to increase perceived value
I hate surprises.
Do you know what’s worse than a surprise in my personal life?
A surprise at work.
Work surprises are more often stressful than they are pleasant:
Your boss surprises you with more work because you’re short-staffed.
Your coworker says surprise! You have to take over their project halfway through.
Your CEO surprises you by saying the board meeting got moved up, so the Keynote slides should be ready by tomorrow.
The opposite of surprises is setting expectations—early and often. This is the secret to successful, happy, sustainable working relationships.
When you set expectations, good things happen
1. Increase the likelihood of getting the outcome you want.
There are lots of variables that aren’t within your control. That’s why it’s even more important for you to set expectations for anything you CAN control.
Actively frame your ideas so your recipient has context. Don’t just toss something over a wall. Even if a client asked me to do X, when I send them X, I remind them how they asked for this and why we’re doing it and what the next step is.
Assume your recipient is task switching and coming from another meeting. Don’t make them think too hard.
2. Prevent misunderstandings later on.
When you set expectations, you are saying,
“Here’s my recommendation and rationale. I will keep you in the loop each step of the way. To be clear, here’s what I will and won’t do. Here’s how we’ll measure progress and what success looks like. As a next step, I suggest X. If this sounds good, I’ll update you next week.”
Be explicit about things you don’t think you need to be explicit about. Overcommunication is usually the right amount of communication.
Have the hard conversations early. Take ownership. Keep folks informed. Repeat.
3. Increase your perceived value so people appreciate your contributions.
There’s the actual value of the work you do… then there’s the perceived value. Unfortunately, many good people focus on the actual work without thinking about how that work is perceived.
If you take 3 days to complete a task… Is that fast or slow? It depends. If I expected you to have it ready by tomorrow, you’re slow. If I expected you to have it done in 15 days, then I’m blown away by how fast you are.
How to set expectations throughout a project
Setting expectations isn’t one and done. You COULD only set expectations at the beginning of a project, but…
people have short memories
project scopes change
needs evolve
Ideally, you should set expectations every step of the way. Here’s how to do that:
Before you start
Discuss the process and what to anticipate
Explicitly state which parts you will or don’t do*
Point out common questions and proactively address them
Explain what’s next
During the project
Check in early and often to make sure you’re on the right track
Share the next time they should expect to hear from you
Proactively normalize so your audience can calibrate their reactions (They won’t freak out if they know something happens to everyone or is a part of the process.)
Articulate what you’ll do by which date
Explain what’s next after every interaction
After you wrap up
Explain what you did and highlight positive results
Be explicit if you consider your portion complete
Hand the baton to the next runner in your metaphorical relay race (and wait for the confirmation that they indeed received the baton. Don’t let the baton sit on the floor.)
Give yourself enough time to do high quality work
How many times have you solved a hard problem—only to have the recipient say, “Meh. Okay cool.”
You’re thinking, “Wow. I bent over backwards to make this happen. I was barely able to finish this. And this is your reaction??”
It’s easy to blame the other person for not understanding how hard we tried and the sweat it took.
But it’s our responsibility to help them understand how hard the problem was, why it matters, and why the organization benefits now that you solved that problem.
By proactively setting expectations, you’ll increase the perceived value of your contributions.
Be more explicit than you think you need to be
You might feel sheepish being so explicit about what parts of the project you will or won’t do.
You might pray that your client won’t ask you to do X or Y because you really don’t want to… But hope is not a strategy.
It’s much better to be clear on this upfront. If you don’t, you risk disappointing your client, which diminishes your credibility and reduces their satisfaction.
This applies if you're a full-time employee too. If you already know you won’t have the bandwidth to take on the entire project yourself, speak up early.
Plant the seed with your boss. Let them know you’re swamped and talk about trade-offs. Don’t let them settle into the idea that you’ll handle 100% of the project if you already know you can’t do it. It will only be more jarring if you say no later.
Have hard conversations early. Don’t assume the other party knows what’s in your head. Set expectations even if—especially if—you think you can do it later. Do it now.
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