The Art of Setting Clear Expectations
Cathie Leimbach • October 3, 2023
Being clear about the type of results you want is essential for effective leadership. It provides direction, alignment, and motivation for your team. Here are some tips to help leaders be clear about the results they want:
- Paint a Clear Vision: Create a compelling vision of the desired results. Help your team understand the big picture and why their work matters in achieving that vision.
- Define Specific Goals: Clearly articulate your goals in specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) terms. For example, instead of saying "improve customer satisfaction," specify "increase customer satisfaction scores by 10% in the next quarter."
- Provide Context: Explain the context and the "why" behind the goals. When people understand the reasoning, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to achieving the results.
- Break Down Goals: Divide larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks and milestones. This makes it easier for your team to see the path to success and stay motivated along the way.
- Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Identify key metrics and KPIs that will measure progress toward the desired results. Share these metrics with your team so they can track their performance.
- Prioritize: Clearly define which results are most important and should be prioritized. This helps your team focus their efforts on what matters most.
Being clear about the specific results you want will help your team stay focused, motivated, and aligned toward achieving team and organizational goals.
Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack knowledge. They struggle because leadership opportunities show up in daily conversations —and those moments are easy to miss. The difference between average and high-performing teams often comes down to four leadership behaviors: 1. Build Trust Through Everyday Conversations Trust is built in small moments. Listen to concerns Ask thoughtful questions Follow through Address issues quickly and respectfully 🤝 Trust grows through consistent, everyday conversations. 2. Reinforce What Good Looks Like People repeat what gets recognized. Be specific: “I appreciated how you handled that client issue quickly—that made a difference.” 🔒 Clarity + recognition = stronger performance. 3. Address Problems Early—Kindly and Clearly Avoiding issues creates bigger ones. Keep it simple: What was expected? What happened? What needs to change? 👥 Clear, timely conversations reduce drama and improve results. 4. Support People So They Can Succeed Your role is to help your team succeed. Clarify priorities Remove obstacles Provide resources Coach progress 🔍 When people have clarity and support, performance follows. The Real Lever: Conversations None of this requires new systems. It happens in everyday interactions— 1:1s, quick check-ins, and follow-ups. Better conversations → better results. Quick Reflection Which one would make the biggest difference for you right now? Build trust Reinforce performance Address problems early Support success 👉 Join our next 60-minute Leadership Conversation – Inspiring Employee Performance on Monday, April 6, at 3:00 pm ET. Not a webinar. A working session with other leaders looking at what’s actually happening on their teams—and how small shifts in daily conversations change performance fast. If you're curious what even a 10% shift in consistency could look like for your team… this is a good place to start.
You don’t need to make big changes in your leadership practices to get better results. Often, it’s small shifts in everyday leadership conversations that quietly change how work gets done. Here are three that work: 1. Make priorities clear Start meetings by stating current priorities. That creates focus right away and helps conversations stay on topic. 2. Ask instead of solve Instead of answering an employee’s questions, ask, “What are your suggestions?” Such questions encourage employee thinking and stronger follow-through. 3. Hold short monthly one-on-one check-ins Meeting with each employee one-on-one allows the regular review of goals, progress, and obstacles. These short conversations surface issues early and keep everyone aligned. These small habits keep teams steady and focused. Your challenge this month: Pick one shift and try it. Notice what changes in clarity, buy-in, or accountability. Sometimes the difference between teams that struggle and teams that move smoothly comes down to a few simple leadership conversations happening consistently. 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation on March 30th at 3:00 PM to see how small shifts in everyday leadership conversations can quickly improve clarity, ownership, and results.