The most unhelpful term in management: Expectation

In business jargon, “Circle back” might be the pits, but in management the most unhelpful, counter-productive term is expectation.

“Please tell me what is expected of me.” — this is a phrase we’re advised to use in order to establish what someone believes should happen.

A useful request? No.

In the context of doing great work, the concept of expecting something is irrelevant.

Expectation is a belief and a judgement (‘should’). It is full of bias. If we’re honest with ourselves, what we expect is often driven by the subconscious, by default settings.

It is also tainted and pejorative to many. Maybe your parents expected you to be a doctor, but you wanted to be an artist. Maybe you’ve been subjected to prejudiced expectations. The term is infers judgement and at worst can be passive aggressive.

“I expected you to know that!”

How demotivating.

Take a more practical example:

“The land is parched but it’s cloudy and I expect rain”.

So what if the person expects rain? Is the hope of something going to solve the problem? What really matters is what action is needed, not what is hoped for. You can expect all you like from me, it doesn’t mean I’m going to do it!

“I need irrigation for my crop”

Expressing a need is far clearer. And so as a one person asking another for clarity, a more effective approach is to ask directly:

“Please tell me what you need of me?”

Now that is a helpful question. And in response:

“I need you to design and build a reliable irrigation system to ensure my crops yield every year regardless of rainfall”

A request for clarity and a requirement expressed with no ambiguity, and no judgement.