Planning the Expectations Conversation

The point of the expectations conversation is for you and your boss to clarify and align your expectations about the future. You need to agree on short- and medium- term goals, on timing, and on how your boss will measure progress. What will constitute success, for your boss and for you? When does your boss expect to see results? How will you measure success? Over what time frame? If you succeed, what is next ? If you don t manage expectations, they will manage you.

Match Expectations to the Situation

Closely align your expectations with your shared assessment of the situation. In a turnaround situation, for example, you and your boss would probably agree on the need to take decisive action quickly. You would both have explicit expectations for the immediate future, such as making difficult decisions to reduce costs in nonessential areas or concentrating on the products with the highest margins. In this scenario, you would probably measure success by improvements in the business s overall financial performance.

Aim for Early Wins in Areas Important to Your Boss

Whatever your own priorities, pinpoint what your boss cares about most and aim for some early wins in those areas. If you want to succeed, you need your boss s help; in turn , you should help your boss succeed. When you pay attention to your boss s priorities, he or she will feel ownership in your success. The most effective and synergistic approach is to integrate your boss s goals with your own efforts to get early wins. If this is impossible , look for some early wins based solely on your boss s priorities.

Identify the Untouchables

If there are parts of the organization ”products, facilities, people ”about which your new boss is proprietary, it is essential to figure out what they are as soon as possible. You don t want to find out that you are pressing to shut down the product line that your boss started up or to replace someone who has been his or her loyal ally. So try to deduce what your boss is sensitive about. You can do this by understanding your boss s personal history, by talking to others, and by paying close attention to facial expression, tone, and body language. If you are uncertain , float an idea gently as a trial balloon and then watch the boss s reactions closely.

Educate Your Boss

One of your immediate tasks is to shape your boss s perceptions of what you can and should achieve. You may find your boss s expectations unrealistic , or simply at odds with your own beliefs about what needs to be done. If so, you will have to work hard to make your views converge. In a realignment situation, for example, your boss may attribute the worst problems to a certain part of the business, whereas you believe they lie elsewhere. In this case, you will need to educate your boss about the underlying problems to reset expectations. Proceed carefully ” especially if your boss feels invested in the way things have always been or is partially responsible for the problems.

Underpromise and Overdeliver

Whether you and your boss agree on expectations, try to bias yourself somewhat toward underpromising achievements and overdelivering results. This strategy contributes to building credibility. Consider how your organization s capacity for change might affect your ability to deliver on the promises you make. Be conservative in what you promise. If you deliver more, you will delight your boss. But if you promise too much and fail to deliver, you risk undermining your credibility. Even if you do a great deal, you will have failed in the boss s eyes.

Clarify, Clarify, Clarify

Even if you are sure you know what your boss expects, you should go back regularly to confirm and clarify. Some bosses know what they want but are not good at expressing it; you could reach clarity only after you have headed down the wrong road. So you have to be prepared to keep asking questions until you are sure you understand. Try, for example, asking the same questions in different ways to gain more insight. Work at reading between the lines accurately and developing good hypotheses about what your boss is likely to want. Try to put yourself in your boss s shoes and understand how his or her boss will evaluate him or her. Figure out how you fit into the larger picture. Above all, don t let key issues remain ambiguous. Ambiguity about goals and expectations is dangerous. As one new leader put it, A tie [in a conflict over what was said about expectations in an earlier conversation] doesn t go to you, it goes to your supervisor.

Working with Multiple Bosses

You face even more daunting challenges in managing expectations if you have more than one boss or are situated in a different location from your boss. The same fundamental principles hold, but the relative emphasis shifts. If you have multiple bosses, you have to be sure to balance perceived wins and losses among them carefully. If one boss has substantially more power, then it makes sense to bias yourself somewhat in his or her direction early on, so long as you redress the balance, to the greatest extent possible, later. If you can t get agreement by working with your bosses one-on-one, you have to essentially force them to come to the table together to thrash issues out. Otherwise, you will get pulled to pieces.

Working at a Distance

Managing when you are located far from your boss presents a different set of challenges. The risk of falling out of step without realizing it is naturally greater. This puts the onus on you to exert even more discipline over communication, scheduling calls and meetings to be sure that you stay aligned. It also is even more critical to establish clear and comprehensive metrics so that your boss gets a reasonable picture of what is going on, and you can manage effectively by exception.