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Center for Enlightened Leadership
 
THE LENS E-NEWSLETTER/JOURNAL

What Are We Expecting?
By PAUL D. HOUSTON

  Dr. Paul. D. Houston
  Dr. Paul D. Houston
Founding Partner

Thinking about the power of expectation reminds me that many of the values we espouse are really a two-way street. They can work for good or they can do harm. This is particularly true of expectation.

Consult the dictionary to see the pitfalls imbedded in this elusive concept. On the one hand the word “expectation” can be defined as “one’s prospects of inheritance.” This is not usually a good thing to focus on; we live in a country divided by the very notion of entitlement. On one side of the political spectrum are those who feel that we should help the poor less or they will feel entitled. On the other side of the ideological aisle are those who feel that the really entitled are those who have already inherited the largess of our society. Another definition cuts both ways: the “strong belief that something might happen or will be the case in the future.” This can easily become magical thinking, in that expectation can provide a false sense that things will be wonderful without an understanding of what might go into making that so. However, this kind of thinking can also serve as an impetus to envision and then create a better future!

Expectations are so ingrained in us that great literature has been written to study this phenomenon. Most of us read Great Expectations in school and are familiar with Pip’s story of his introduction into a world he could hardly imagine and what the longings that this world created drove him to do. He learned the truth of what Shakespeare said, that “expectation is the root of all heartache.” The book does have a happy ending, but Pip’s journey wasn’t always pleasant.

At the Center for Empowered Leadership we support the idea of expectation because we hope (expect) that its use will serve as a catalyst for positive change. It can provide the framework for building something better in our own life and in the lives of those around us. It can help us create a vision and a plan for building a better future. Clearly, therefore, we see the proper use of expectation as a basic tool for any leader.

But the first place a leader must start is by having expectations for him- or herself. One’s expectations need to be real, but they also need to set a target beyond what you might realistically think you could meet. I had a professor once who joked that most people throw the dart at the wall and then draw the target around it so they always hit the bull’s-eye. Now there’s an example of really low expectations! Setting high expectations is a must, but that strong sense of yearning for something much better must be accompanied by a strong sense of forgiveness. If you cannot forgive yourself, or others when they fail to meet the target—when their dart misses the mark—then you’ll be creating a push to set lower expectations the next time in order to avoid failure. One of the most important tasks for any leader is keeping his or her organization from embracing failure as an ongoing expectation.

During my years as a superintendent, in my evaluations of my top managers, I asked each one to identify his or her “best worst idea”—the thing that they had tried to do but failed at accomplishing. I rewarded those managers who were clearer in setting targets and then understanding why they had failed to achieve them. The idea I was promoting was to strive greatly. I did not reward chintzy ideas or actions.

In my very first year as a superintendent I was having year-end evaluations with my principals. One of the best principals came into my office and kind of…collapsed into the chair. When I asked him how he thought the school year had gone, he said, “I have never worked harder in my life than I have this year. I felt so much pressure from you that I just kept working.” He went on to admit that he couldn’t cite one example of a time when I had told him he needed to work harder or had given him any explicit directions. He then told me he didn’t know how I did it. I just chuckled and reminded him that I really believed in him and that I had made my belief clear over time. My belief in him had driven him to a level of excellence he hadn’t previously considered himself capable of reaching.

Having high expectations—if they are appropriate and are supported—can become a kind of “catalytic converter” for an organization, a family, or a relationship. But the expectations must start with the one doing the expecting, and then the followers must be given the latitude to try and fail and to be supported in their failure. If that happens there can be real magic.


Center for Empowered Leadership ®
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