The power of expectation is often underestimated. In Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw said, "The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves. It's how she's treated." Lerner and Loewe based "My Fair Lady" around Shaw's concept. Maybe we managers should take more notice of those gentlemen of the theatre.
Expectation Defined. In 1929, most banks in the USA were solvent. Their customers believed differently. The customers expected to lose their deposits. They rushed to withdraw them. Because of the sudden rush to withdraw cash, the banks couldn't satisfy the demand. They became insolvent. Expectation created action. Today we say, "Be careful, you might end up getting what you expect" That's exactly what bank customers got in 1929!
Hope and Expectation. "Hope" is not expectation. "Hope" describes what you'd "like to happen". We often confuse the two. To say that you "hope my staff will treat customers well" is a statement of preference: what you want to happen. To say that "I expect my staff to treat customers well" is a statement of intent: what you believe will happen.
Effect On Staff. When you tell staff what you expect, clearly and unequivocally, you are setting performance standards for your people. There's a much greater chance of getting what you want from your staff when they know exactly what you expect.
Effect On You The Manager. To get what you expect from your people, you must provide the resources they need. You can tell your people that you expect them to be at work on time. But if your starting time doesn't match public transport timetables and there's no parking within a reasonable distance of your business, your staff will know that you don't really expect them to be on time.
Monitoring and Measuring. Set the standards. Provide the resources. Then monitor and measure. You can have excellent standards and superb resources. Only measurement will turn these into genuine expectations. If your staff know that their performance won't be monitored and measured against previously stated standards, they'll also know that you're not serious about expectations.
Staff Treatment. Managers who genuinely expect their staff to perform well consistently treat their staff as if they are successful. They do everything they can to ensure staff will be successful. To paraphrase GBS, "If you treat your staff like idiots, they'll behave like idiots". If you're "on their backs" all the time, looking for errors, they'll make errors for you to find because they know you expect them.
Conclusion. Set Standards. Tell your staff. Provide the resources. Measure the performance. Use praise and encouragement effectively. Make it clear that you really want them to be the best. Lead by example. Are you a Freddy who treated Eliza like a lady? Or are you Professor Higgins who still saw her as a flower girl? You may not quite reach the heights of success of "My Fair Lady". But you will have a hit on your hands.
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