Four Steps To Setting Crystal Clear (As Mud) Expectations
Human beings long for clarity. We want to know precisely when the train will arrive, exactly when school will resume in person, and definitively when my Instacart order will show up.
Large corporations have entire departments focused solely on communication; communicating with the public, with employees, with customers, with regulators, with vendors and suppliers.
What about a small business?
Typically, it is the owner who will have to embrace the banner of clear communication for the business team and begin thoughtfully and repetitively empowering others to generate their own clear communication.
Communication is one of the kindest actions we can take as business owners to bring clarity to all of those partners. The very root of the word communication simply means, “to share”.
Oh if Mom could see you now as you recall all of the Kindergarten cliches about how sharing is caring.
In fact, sharing is caring, but only if sharing is done in truth, kindness, generosity, shrewdness, and discretion.
We’ve all met the “keep-this-between-me-and-you” guy who you know has spread what they are about to share with you, to plenty of others before you.
And we’ve spent time with the “I-hate-to-gossip” lady when she pivots with a simple, “but…” and then drops a gossip bomb. That is not careful sharing.
Careful sharing means laying the foundational concrete of forethought, timelines, impact, and outcomes.
Here are four steps to creating communication that will be helpful and set some powerfully clear expectations for everyone involved.
First, remember that it is going to take longer than you think. If I had a dollar for the number of times that the expectations were clear in my own head, and yet still led to confusion to others. It’s not their fault, instead my expectations have not had the necessary time to build clarity for others.
Expect questions. Expect curiosity. Expect confusion. Just because it is clear to you does not mean it is clear to me.
Many business owners are driver-personalities prone to rush results. Results of clear communication often come with slowness and time.
Second, write down your expectations. The simple value of writing things down is proven every time to read an important historical document; the Constitution, Luther’s ninety-five theses and his volumes of other writings, or the history of trees.
Oral cultures have existed in the past, but the ones that have endured have transcribed the oral stories into written histories.
Many business owners and key leaders are even taking the peculiar step of writing out a simple outline before they go into a hard conversation with an employee or with a customer. They will even use their written outline to show the other person that they have truly thought through their words.
Write down your expectations so others have time to digest.
Third, set a formal time to share your expectations.
It is not uncommon to hear a business owner frustratingly respond with, “but I told them (the process) the other day!”
If all Ashley and I did for the health of our marriage was to talk “in passing”, then it would be a long marital road. We must have intentional times to sit down and discuss and dream and ideate.
After you have your expectations written down, schedule a time to formally present them.
Finally, realize that sometimes you will never be fully understood...and that is ok.
This morning I was reading accounts of a few stories that Jesus was sharing with his apprentices. Once he wrapped up, he walked to his hometown of Nazareth (which is halfway between the Sea Of Galilee and the Meditteranean Sea). Some of the towns people he grew up with were curious as to how he had become so famous, and frankly were offended by his fame, and he turned to the small group following him and said simply, “A prophet is honored everywhere except his own hometown and among his own family.”
Sometimes, regardless of your clarity, you will simply be misunderstood. I have yet to find the magic elixir of how to reconcile that feeling, but it makes me feel better knowing that even Jesus himself was not able to bring clarity to everyone.
Neither will I, but for the ones who do find clarity it will be worth the effort. For the rest, it may be clear as mud.
Part of setting clear expectations is having both thoughtfulness, and a process. We have unlocked the entire Business On Purpose Roadmap coaching experience to help you build those necessary processes in your business, including your communication process. You can go to mybusinessonpurpose.com/free to get started setting clear expectations!
Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose, author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters. Scott also hosts The Business On Purpose Podcast and can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com.