The impact of expectation management was recently reinforced on a trip back from San Jose, Calif. to Chicago. We boarded the plane on time, always a good sign. Just as we were getting settled for the flight, the Captain came on to inform us that the weather was very bad on the East Coast and O'Hare had declared a ground stop. She promised additional information as she received it. I pulled out my reading and prepared for a delay. The next announcement, that I remember hearing, informed us that the hold could last for up to 3.5 hours. Water was passed out and the movie started on the ground. Imagine my delight when after a 45 min wait, the Captain came on again to say that things were clearing up, we should "lock up" and we should be taking off in the next 20 minutes. Contrast this to another weather related experience where the delays were announced every 20 minutes, for 6 straight hours, until the flight was cancelled. In the first case, I am delighted to be an hour late. In the second, my patience eroded with every 20 minute announcement. Was the pilot on the first flight intentionally managing expectations? Does it matter? What is critical is in how the situation was perceived and how I and my fellow passengers reacted.

The same lesson applies to management, be it of people or projects. Proper setting of expectations will dramatically improve the perception of "success". Imaging an employee who receives a 6% raise. If is expectation is that raises will be 4%, he will be "happy". If on the other hand, the perception is that his raise was to be 7%, he will feel cheated.

Words paint pictures. Numbers set expectations.
Notice in the example above that the words help paint the picture, but you generally need numbers to set expectations. Which of the following words do not cry out for numbers: delay, salary increase, fast, expensive. Generally you will find that people need to have the words quantified. How long is the delay? How much is the salary increase? How fast does the car go? How expensive is the item? The words alone do not give enough information. In some cases, the "exact" quantity can be specified. When uncertainty exists, ranges can be used. And in cases of high uncertainty, probability levels can be given. Keep in mind that people hear what they want to hear. Ergo, when giving a salary range, people will tend to hear the high number. When giving time delays, most people will start pacing when the lower limit expires.

While more effort is required to quantify expectations, the end result is worth it. Quantifying allows you and others to judge the outcome and monitor progress. Not properly setting and quantifying expectations is one of the key reasons that you have "unsuccessful" outcomes.

Setting expectations is an ongoing process, with limits.
In today's world of rapid change, expectations must be monitored constantly. In the world of project management there is an old saying that no one objects when a project is finished early or under budget. Not resetting expectations in the wake of bad news is one of the key reasons for the failure of projects and project managers. Delivering bad news is never easy, but if it appears that goals are not going to be met, deliver the bad news early and reset the expectations as soon as possible. Finding up front that the plane would be late and being given a logical reason, reset my expectations as to travel and arrival times. Keep in mind that there are definite limits on the number of times that expectations can be reset and the reasons for the change must be compelling. Keep in mind that there is a very fine line between successfully resetting expectations and being perceived as being unable to deliver. In the case of the 2nd plane scenario, resetting expectations every 20 minutes gave an unsatisfactory outcome. While there are not hard and fast rules on how often expectations can be changed, it is probably better to do one major change as opposed to 5 minor ones.

Next time you original expectations are not met, notice what is anything is done to attempt to reset those expectations. By noticing what works and what does not, your skills at resetting expectations will improved and an increased perception of "success" will result.

Bio:
Caryl M. Barclay is an international IT executive with over 20 years of experience integrating strategy, process redesign, technology, and organizational change management. She is currently the President of Usable Systems, Inc., an IT consulting firm. Prior positions include Director of International IT for Outboard Marine Corporation and Principal, Computer Sciences Corporation, CSC Consulting. She can be reached at caryl.barclay@usablesystemsinc.com.