The Power of Expectations

I was the proudest Dad in Virginia last year when my 25-year-old daughter Megan was awarded her Master’s degree in Higher Education. She said something that struck me as relevant to those of us who are interested in leadership. After the graduation ceremony, she said something like, “You know, you and Mom talked all my life about my going to both college and grad school. There was never much discussion; it was always assumed I would do both. And now I have. It was a lot of work, but I’m glad I did it, and I’m glad you expected a lot from me”.

As I pondered her comment, I thought about the power of expectations, not just in parenting, but in leadership too. That expectation had been made clear to Megan all her life. She could have said “no, I don’t want to go to grad school, or even college”. But she didn’t, and now she’s got a great job and her career is nicely launched. And I think one reason for her success so far is the power of what was expected of her by her Mom and me.

Doesn’t the same thing apply to us as leaders? What happens when we set the bar high for our teams? Or ourselves? What happens when we expect a lot of people? When we refuse to settle for nothing but excellence, both in the work we do, and in the people we chose to join our team?

Something miraculous happens: people will often rise to the occasion. Expect a lot and you get a lot. Some call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your employees may surprise you (and even themselves) at how well they rise to meet the expectations.

Maybe first we need to learn (or even dare) to expect a lot, both of ourselves and from our teams. Then, as part of our leadership, we need to continue to insist on the best, and not compromise those standards, even if means changing some of the employees.

Then, like with my daughter, I bet more often that not, those expectations will be met. That’s one key way to build a truly excellent organization.  Everyone wants to be part of a truly excellent organization.  And we all want to lead them.