Setting Expectations, Getting Results

When people fail to meet expectations, it is often because they didn't know what expectations to meet.  Being a ScrumMaster, team lead, and manager, the most effective way I clear this up is to explicitly tell teams what I expect.  This phrase, although quite obvious and trivial, helps me achieve that goal:

"I expect you to ..."

Yes, it is that simple.  By clearly letting your team (or boss, spouse, friends, etc.) know what you are expecting, they are better equipped with the right information to meet your expectations.  Here is a specific example:

Self-Organizing and Self-Managing Teams
When teaching scrum to a team, I tell them that "Scrum teams are self-organizing and self-managing".  Now that the team has been told, don't expect them to start being self-organizing and self-managing.  Aside from the culture and personality changes that need to occur to make this happen, it is much more effective to additional tell the teams, or individuals on the team, what is expected of them.  I follow-up with this by telling teams and individuals, "I expect you to be self-organizing and self-managing."  This may seem repetitive, but it is very effective.

Here are a few more examples of expectations:

• I expect you to get to meetings on time, not 30 seconds late.
• I expect you to meet  your commitments.
• I expect you to help others with their tasks as though the tasks were yours.
• I expect you to be pro-active, don't wait to be told what to do all the time.