Businesses deal with unmet expectations on a regular basis. Whether its quarterly earnings
falling short of projections for a publicly traded company, volume declining from prior periods
for a sales organization, or productivity being below target levels for a manufacturing
organization, unmet expectations can lead to some stressful situations. I have lived through all
the above at one time or another during my time in business. When expectations are not met,
those setting the expectations can place a great deal of pressure and stress on the various teams to
explain the shortfalls, address the issues, and improve the performance.
Unmet expectations can also impact people in their personal lives as well. Whether its
expectations placed on a child from a parent, a spouse to their partner, or expectations we place
on ourselves, the same level of stress and disappointment can be present. This stress and
disappointment can lead to many emotional issues that can adversely affect our lives in a number
of ways.
Whether we are talking about unmet expectations in business or personal life, there are few
concepts that can help us navigate through this process and mitigate some of the toll these
shortfalls can cause in our lives.
- Potential – We need to all understand this word. Potential is essential to properly setting
expectations. Understanding potential in business allows organizations to realistically set
expectations and share projections. Understanding potential personally allows us to set
reasonable expectations on performance, achievement, and goal setting. We often
neglect to understand potential because we get caught up in comparing ourselves to
others. Others in business can be others in our organization, our competitors, or some
industry baseline. Others in our personal life is often someone we look at as successful,
highly thought of in a particular field, or someone we hold in high regard. Try to avoid
comparison and focus on potential when setting expectations in business and in life. - Growth is a process – If you aren’t comfortable with your current capabilities, you can
often do something about it. In business, you can develop a plan to improve, expand, and
grow. These plans often take time, but you can often raise your potential level with
investment and commitment. The same holds true personally. We can improve and grow
in various areas of our life through development plans and commitment but understand
that it may take time. Be careful not to raise expectation levels above the growth process. - Falling short isn’t failure – If you compete in business or live long enough, you are going
to fall short at times. Even when expectations are reasonably established, there will be
times that you fall short. There will be times that variables outside our control impact the
outcome. There will also be times that we just don’t perform up to our level of potential
on a consistent basis. Falling short at times doesn’t mean we are a failure. We may fail,
but that doesn’t define us as a failure. When we or others close to us fall short, the key is
to learn from the shortfall, regroup, address the issues, and quickly start moving forward
again. Understand it’s part of life. - Quit trying harder – If people in your business are putting forth their best effort, don’t
keep asking them to do more.
If you personally are putting forth your best effort, don’t beat yourself up and convince yourself to just try harder. I am all for putting forth our best/great effort, but there comes a point when more effort is not reasonable nor beneficial. Rethink the expectation. Rework the strategy. Redirect the effort. When
expectations are not met, be careful not to punish the team or yourself unjustly.
We are all going to deal with unmet expectations at some point in life. How we deal with those
unmet expectations will go a long way in defining us in business, in our relationships with
others, and in our own emotional well-being. Think potential rather than what you want. Focus
on growth as a process not a destination. Remember that failing doesn’t make us a failure.
Finally, accept that we will fall short at times, and the key is to learn and move forward.
