Whether you are an employer or employee, a manager or a worker bee, a client or a vendor; people need to know what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. When one or both sides of the previously mentioned relationships does not let the other know what they expect; assumptions, miscommunications, and misunderstanding occur. If this continues, it will destroy any working relationship that might have existed and cause people to either become extremely difficult to work with or it will cause them to leave the situation all together.
To successfully convey expectations, a person in the relationship needs to be willing to listen to the other person’s expectations as well; and possibly come to a compromise in order for the working relationship to continue.
The next time you find yourself frustrated at a situation or even a specific person, step back and ask yourself if you have expressed your expectations. If not, now would be a great time to do that.
