Honesty Is The Best Policy
Management Speak is something that plenty of us use regularly without giving too much thought to how it is being perceived by others.
Maybe you encourage a ‘blue-sky approach’ to get staff ‘thinking outside the box’. Perhaps you suggest to your team that you ‘take things offline’ when you’d rather have a private conversation than discuss an issue with the group.
Or, a little disturbingly, you might occasionally consider yourself to be ‘eating the elephant’ or ‘kissing the frog’ when you do something that you know won’t be too popular – terms that are amongst the most annoying business slang, not to mention inappropriate.
But let’s take a minute or two to talk about the art of ‘managing expectations’.
You may be mistaken for thinking that it’s all about what happens in the workplace, but it goes far deeper. If an individual has financial problems, then the fact that you implied they would receive a pay increase after their probationary period and it still hasn’t happened it’s going to create serious problems.
Sure, the cause of the money problems might have absolutely nothing to do with you, and they’re almost certainly not your fault. But when you fail to manage expectations effectively, the impact can be far reaching.
So, what’s the solution? It’s pretty simple. Get radically honest, from the outset. You might think that embellishing the truth a little is just part of attracting the best talent, but telling the truth from the offset is going to save you a whole load of time, money, and hassle further down the line.
If you specify a pay bracket, but new recruits start at the bottom and won’t progress for at least two years; tell them that.
If working weekends is something that you expect of all employees, even those in higher positions; they need to know in advance.
If budgetary constraints mean you won’t be giving out any cash bonuses at the end of the year; communicate it, don’t try to paint a picture that suggests something different.
Your employees will respect and trust you a lot more if you are honest and transparent with them about your objectives, their role in the business, and what’s likely to be achieved in the short, medium and long term.
This is about embracing all aspects of leadership, acting with integrity and ultimately doing the right thing. If you would like to discuss this further with one of the team please fill in the Contact Form here or give us a call on 01604 763494.
