You may have heard the adage “people treat you the way you allow them to”.  Usually when we think of this, it’s in reference to respect or kindness. This also has a strong meaning in the workplace with a slight twist

“People will Work to the Expectations you Accept”

Sounds straightforward doesn’t it.  You set high expectations, you expect high expectations. However do you realize you may be doing small things everyday to accept the wrong or lower expectations?

What?

Yes, you may be inadvertently accepting the wrong or lower expectations if you are doing any of these three things.

Doing it yourself. How many times have you said yourself “I’ll do it myself, it will be faster” when it really should be someone else’s responsibility or a good stretch opportunity.  I know I have. People are learning they can off-load projects or they won’t be challenged.

Correcting their work yourself. You delegate an assignment or someone does the work and gives it to you for review. Instead of sitting down with them to discuss and coach – you fix it yourself. People are learning they can do part of the work and you will fix it, saving them the time and effort.

Answering their questions. I have written about this many times. They come to for an answer either they should know or if they thought about it would have come to the answer, instead they ask you and you tell them. People are learning they don’t have to remember anything, learn new things, or try to solve it themselves.

The good news is this can be corrected with extra attention on your part and a willingness to “let go”. Yes, sometimes it comes down to either our controlling nature or perfectionism.  As you have heard many little ones sing “Let it go, let it go” (from Disney’s Frozen if you haven’t been around little ones lately).

What will you do differently today to reset the expectations?

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