It’s to our benefit to operate under conditions that we set for ourselves. In the world of business we’re frequently held to deadlines often impractical to achieve high quality output; however, we are merited under the basis of making the best out of whatever situation we have to face. This means that it’s advantageous to have the ability to set your own expectations – providing the best possible working environment – resulting in a meritable outcome.
In both What Type of Employee Are You? I’m a Hustler and The 6 Core Values of a Hustler I wrote about being your own business. The “be your own business” philosophy encompasses taking total ownership of your roles and responsibilities, building relationships to support your business and branding yourself to promote your business. Setting your own expectations increases your ability to operate as your own business unit by loosening the cuffs of poor leadership and/or giving you the ability to work under conditions that you create in order to meet your own goals and objectives.
Expectations
Expectation is the state of being expected to do something. It’s what is looked forward to or anticipated.
Many times in business the word expectation is used instead of direct statements such as: “I direct you to…”, “I demand you to…”, “you must…” and even “I expect you to…”. Tailoring a message like: “my expectation is that you complete the project by next week”, is an indirect and passively aggressive way for one to direct you, or demand you to do something.
Regardless if a message is given directly or indirectly, you are still tied to whatever it is that needs to be done.
Here are a few quick and easy tactics that you can implement today (or next week, if you procrastinate) to begin the process of setting your own expectations:
1. Produce high quality work
Michelangelo couldn’t be held to the same time constraints as the average artist because he wasn’t average. His work spoke for itself.
Be Michelangelo-like when you work and you will notice that the shackles will loosen, your boundaries will fade, expected deadlines will lengthen and most importantly for this article’s sake -your own expectations will develop.
It’s understood that quality takes time, and as long as you can maintain a high quality, you can alleviate the constant push. People respect superior work.
2. Over schedule deadlines, but complete early
This one is well known in the business world as “over commit – under deliver”. I changed the wording so that the message isn’t mixed for anyone who isn’t familiar. By over committing a deadline, you are creating a buffer for yourself providing two benefits: 1- extra time just in case you need it; 2- create an extended time frame only to complete early, making you look like a hero.
Beware: if you constantly over commit and under deliver then people will eventually catch on. I recommend using this for large, complex situations where the expectation may be more flexible than normal considering the amount of work at hand.
3. Test the waters; fail the expectations on purpose
I rarely suggest this type of maneuver although I use it all the time myself. This is because the negative consequences can be substantial.
Keep in mind that I said “fail expectations on purpose“. This means that you purposely make the decision to not meet an expectation that someone else has set for you, as a scheme with a larger goal in mind. For myself, the goal is often to emphasize my work. “Look at the great work I do…so good, in fact, you can’t complain that it was late”. Of course those are not the words are I use – but it’s the indirect message given!
Failing the expectation on purpose extends the first point above on “Producing high quality work” and backs up the Michelangelo effect.
The positive aspects of using this tactic can be an increase of respect because of your quality work, and of course a notch forward in having the ability to set your own expectations.
The Benefit of Setting Your Own Expectations
It’s as simple as this…
Having the ability to shape your environment in a way that is advantageous to you puts you in the best position to reach your goals as quickly as possible. Setting your own expectations does just that: helps shape your environment to reach your goals as quickly as possible.
Be sure to checkout part 2 of this series: Gain the Advantage: Set Your Own Expectations, Pt. 2
Don’t forget to check out these articles that I referenced:
Gain the Advantage: Set Your Own Expectations, Pt. 2
What Type of Employee Are You? I’m a Hustler
The 6 Core Values of a Hustler
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JK Hustle: Great post and I think this is great advice to set your own expectations. It takes control over what you are aiming for out of other people’s hands and puts it right where it belongs…in your own hands. I think this is really the way we create and shape our future the way we want it and make certain we are always doing things we know deep down we were meant to do. I think your recommendation to perform with high quality is so important and often times we try and substitute quantity for quality, but there really is no substitute. Great post.
Thanks for checking out the website and commenting. I appreciate it. Quality always over quantity!
Make sure you expectations is high. Work towards it and it will be achieved! Great post JK!
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