Everybody has career dreams and expectations, they are what drives us forward and motivates us for success. We use expectations to judge ourselves and others. But are they realistic? Not all expectations are healthy and should be avoided. It can be very damaging to work with someone who constantly sets unrealistic expectations, ones that are impossible to satisfy. Here are some questions to ask to determine if your expectations are unrealistic and how to avoid them.
1. Can you clearly communicate your expectations?
Often we have expectations but find it hard to explain exactly what they are and how to achieve them. If you are able to clearly explain your expectations to others, you are more likely to work out how to get there.
2. Did you cook up your expectations with your team?
It is important to validate expectations with everyone involved in achieving them. This way everyone is complicit that they are realistic and can work together and nobody is unfairly judged or disappointed.
3. Have you set unsustainable workloads?
If you’ve set expectations that can only be achieved with unsustainable workloads, if it likely that the task will get done once, but not again. It is better to ask or check among your peers to see what is realistic and gage your expectations around them.
4. Are You Getting Feedback?
Of course everyone wants to be the best but it is a good idea to get some objective feedback. Use your boss or mentor or consult an industry expert to calibrate if your expectations are realistic or not.
5. Do your expectations impact your work/career negatively?
It is no crime to set competitive expectations that drive you to succeed, but where they become damaging is if they are constantly unattainable. Reevaluate your expectations to make sure you’re not continuously setting yourself and your team up for failure.