There is no guarantee of success, there is only the guarantee that if you put in the work you have a higher probability of success! Is there a problem? We should expect the best, why not, what’s the alternative? Of course, things can go wrong and as they do we need to deal with it. It seems everyone wants a guarantee, but that’s just not reality, the world is changing all the time and what might go well one day may not go well the next! There is no guarantee of success, there is only the guarantee that if you put in the work you have a higher probability of success! They were suspicious of what was going well.Is there a problem with being optimistic with expectations? Well, I have a bit of a funny story to tell and if you’ve been following along recently you will know I’m on a big project helping leaders coach and lead effectively. It’s a very challenging programme and even now it’s 9:01 pm and I’ve only just stopped working from 8:30 am so it’s full-on! Anyway, I was feeding back to a leader and letting them know of the progress of a leader that reported to them. I reported back that everything was going well and that we are on track! I was taken aback by the response as all they wanted to know was, where are the issues where are the development areas. They were suspicious of what was going well. Now I think there is nothing wrong with that at all as there is always room for improvement, but what I thought was going to be a straight forward conversation turned out to be a more dissecting affair. The question I have is why does it always have to default to what’s wrong?Of course, as with all things we need to work on things and this leader had things to work on but I wanted their leader to just celebrate the success, they said they are suspicious when things are going so well. That’s when I then went into what the work needed to be done to continue the improvement. That seemed to satisfy that part of the conversation that there was something to work on. The question I have is why does it always have to default to what’s wrong? We should celebrate the success and the question that came to my mind is, that’s brilliant okay so how do we make things even better? Rather than where are the areas for development or weaknesses straight off the bat. I like to come from a place of strengthI always had a resistance to the word weaknesses as I like to come from a place of strength and that for me is where I think expectations should come from. Great, we are doing well and how can we build on that, what’s the micro shift we can make to make an incremental gain. For me, this is much more positive language and lets you look at development through the lens of what’s possible instead of what’s wrong. For me, there is a tinge of blame attached to that type of statement and in my mind, we need to steer well clear of blame. So the expectations should always be collaborative and don’t get me wrong we had a great conversation and by the end, we were working collaboratively to keep building on the success, the only thing I felt is that if this goes wrong it’s on me. I’m okay with that as I’ve learned to shoulder the responsibility and if things continue this leader will be extraordinary and I want to be able to showcase that to their leader so I am happy to take that mantel and accept the responsibility and the challenge. Expectations are not bad, it’s just the way you look at itSo all in all expectations are not bad, it’s just the way you look at it and if you don’t meet expectations it doesn’t mean you are a bad human as long as you gave everything that’s all that matters and deep down in your heart if you know that, then there will be no regrets and that’s the life I want to live a life without regret. So in answer to the question is there a problem with expectations? No, it just depends on what perspective you are looking at it from and I prefer the lens of strength. What’s your take?
This is what I want for you and I appreciate you taking the time to read this blog, remember I appreciate you. Don’t forget to share the blog let as many people know as possible and as always until next time stay inspired!
0 Comments
|
Archives
September 2021
AuthorJoe Noya, founder of JN Coachingtechnologies. Categories |