Managing expectations
Workout stats
This is a summary of what participant have said about this workout over the last 12 months.
- I felt actively involved in the workout99%
- The content was relevant to me94%
- I will use what I have learnt96%
- I'd recommend this workout to others91%
Participant reviews
“If you hit these targets you’ll almost certainly get promoted.” “Let’s paint the kitchen ourselves – it’ll be done in a day” “Support this project and you’ll see bottom line improvements in 18 months.”
It’s tempting to set expectations high, especially if we think that will win over the waverers. But we are storing up trouble for later on.
If Happiness = Reality – Expectation, then those people to whom we have over-promised will end up unhappy, especially with us. If you wonder why someone doesn’t appear to trust you completely or isn’t automatically convinced by your arguments, it may be because you haven’t managed their expectations well in the past.
But what if one always set expectations extremely low, confident that they will be exceeded? Unfortunately, then few people will agree with us in the first place. Managing expectations appropriately requires sensitivity and judgement. Whilst these are attributes it can take years to acquire, there are short cuts that help us find the right path between false gold and despondency so we can get the best mix of short-term agreement and long-term delight.
In 90 minutes you will have
- Understood how expectations are made, implicitly as well as explicitly.
- Reflected on when we set expectations too high or low and what happens as a result.
- Understood the errors people make when setting expectations and how to avoid them.
- Looked at how to alter expectations and manage opinions.