It’s something that top managers and supervisors really have to ask themselves — what are your expectations, and how do they measure up to what’s possible or likely in reality? And how do these expectations help or hurt management outcomes?

It’s easy enough to say “I hold people to a standard”, but just saying that out of context doesn’t really have any specific consequence. You have to figure out what’s reasonable within the business environment, and how to really motivate people by being fair and practicing what you preach.

Look at Past Performance

It doesn’t make sense to suddenly expect people to double their output or make any other radical changes without any other mitigating factors or changes. But sometimes bosses fall into this trap, because they didn’t really look at past performance as an indicator. You have to have a person on a track to productivity and achievement. It’s not a question of – “just do this and that and complete these achievements that I’ve given you”. That’s why past performance is such a strong part of putting together reasonable requests. It might be reasonable to take a past performance number as a benchmark and set a standard slightly above it, but not to simply pull numbers out of a hat.

Look at a Person’s Strengths and Background

On the one hand, if somebody doesn’t have any experience with something, it’s generally unreasonable ask them to excel at it right away. On the other hand, if someone has made a big show of having certain skills, you can hold them to that. Give them a trial project and ask them to achieve something that fits the level of experience they have described, either at interview or at some other time.

Getting Feedback

In reality, expectation and communication should be a two-way street. Instead of just dictating to people, talk to them and listen to what they have to say. The result is going to make your company stronger, and really improve how you evaluate employee productivity. You’ll have more “business intelligence” on which to make decisions – but perhaps more importantly, you’ll be going from a solid basis of being “out in the bullpen” talking to people, which makes you seem hands on and proactive, and gets you closer to the people who you are trying to work with.

What Goals Do You Set for Yourself?

Also, think about the goals that you set for yourself. Make sure you are walking the right path before you accuse someone else of not living up to their potential. When people see that everybody’s in it together, they’re more likely to give you more of their discretionary productivity, and contribute much better to the business as a whole. That’s why making things a “team effort” is such a valuable part of boilerplate leadership. Don’t forget the basics: togetherness, team building, leading by example, and respecting every single person as though they were a CEO. You’ll get further, and feel better, and your business will benefit, as well.

About Full Steam Staffing

Full Steam Staffing is a full-service staffing agency focused on providing clerical and light industrial staffing solutions to manufacturers, distribution centers and other organizations that need qualified, reliable workers. If you are currently looking to hire and grow your workforce, contact our team of skilled recruiters today!