Do you know what your manager expects of you?
If the conversation about expectations doesn’t happen, then you don’t know if you are doing what your manager wants you to do. Having this conversation early on in the relationship allows for clarity on the ways of working together and communication. It sounds simple enough. Why don’t people do it?
There may be a fear or anxiety that people may have about this type of conversation. Will they be able to meet the expectations? Do they have the skills and capabilities that are needed to do the job well? This type of uncertainty may lead to avoiding the conversation altogether. Without the discussion, there are assumptions and frustration by both the manager and the team member.
Here are some of the basic questions to gain clarity:
- What is the best way to provide updates to you?
- How often will we meet together?
- Do you want to follow a specific format for the meetings?
- What are your biggest concerns?
- Who are the key people in the organization that I need to meet with regularly?
- What does success look like for someone in my role?
- How can we work together and stand for each other’s success?
This is an area where agreements about the ways of working in the relationship can be so beneficial. What will you do if things get off track? How will you handle disagreements? Using agreements is a much stronger way to stand for each other’s success than expectations or assumptions.
This relationship will get stronger as you leverage consistent communication and the agreements that you make together. Building a trusted relationship with your manager takes time and doing it well will ultimately serve both of you as a team.