High external expectations and improved performance are thought to go hand in hand. However, while raising an employee's bar may encourage them to strive to accomplish better work, if expectations are set too high they can start to do more harm than good. These expectations can damage employee self confidence, harm company resilience after setbacks, and even cause dissatisfaction amongst management. Appropriately setting expectations helps employees accurately gauge what skills need improvement while, more importantly, highlighting what factors of their jobs they excel at.
Nonsupervisory employees aren't the only ones subjected to unreasonably high expectations. In many cases, managers have even higher goals set by their superior or, more commonly, self-established, unrealistically high expectations for themselves. If a team is struggling to meet expectations, it's common for a manager's discontent to turn inward. Having these internal struggles in a management position can warp the perception of a team's output, leading to an ever-worsening, overall perspective of team performance. When a manager becomes discontented with their team's work product, it's time to evaluate performance goals and establish realistic and attainable expectations.
While working for a perfectionist company, employees often feel angry or frustrated with the expectations set by superiors. If these conditions are allowed to continue it can start to feed in to insecurities that an employee may have about themselves and lead to feelings of inferiority regarding their ability to perform. If management standards stay the same it can lead to a progressive worsening self confidence, burnout; eventually pushing an employee to leave the position. One of the largest downsides of dwindling self-confidence is that distinguishing between unrealistic expectations and constructive critique can become more difficult. This fear of underperforming leads to an unwillingness to critically analyze failures and lead to stagnation amongst employees.
Having high expectations can be a huge asset to a team when used properly. Management should always make sure that members of their team know what value they add; helping employees receive criticism more productively. Knowing that they are doing a portion of their job correctly allows employees to see mistakes as learning experiences instead of major setbacks. As employees learn that mistakes can lead to professional growth, trust in the team and management grows in tandem, allowing for expectations to be raised without feelings of undue stress or panic.
Leaders have the opportunity to help others achieve their greatest potential. Having standards set to harshly can lead down a path of worsening employee mental state and work performance. Setting appropriate expectations and raising that bar at a reasonable rate allows for sustainable growth in employees. Evaluations of goals and standards are key to keeping expectations realistic and to avoid unnecessary turnover.
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