When others expect a lot from us it can be difficult to meet their expectations.  What can add to the difficulty is when we have no idea what those expectations are.

I think back to a conversation I once had where my boss said, “We had such high expectations….” As he said that I thought, “Really?  What were they?”  See, he hadn’t told me specifically what he’d hoped I’d achieve with regard to whatever it was that we were discussing.  I would have been happy to do what he wanted, if only I’d known.

Now, this may sound like a blame-the-supervisor thing to say.  Wrong assumption.  I hadn’t asked and so I was just as much to blame as he was.  He should have told me but when he didn’t, I should have pulled it out of him.

So how can we live up to the expectations others place on us?  First and foremost, we have to know what those expectations are.  Then, once we know them, in return we can set expectations regarding whether we think we’ll be able to meet them and in what sort of timeframe.

Not sure what someone expects from you?  Ask.  Can’t quite meet those expectations?  Be clear about what you can achieve so there are no surprises in the future.

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