| Last week was my birthday, and I planned my own dinner party with my family. I chose the people, the food, and the activity. I even picked out my own gift (much to my husband’s relief!).
And because there were no surprises, I wasn’t stressed, frustrated, or disappointed. Instead, I enjoyed the anticipation beforehand, and I was fully present, engaged, and delighted throughout!
I hate surprises.
And if you’re a leader of anything, you should hate surprises too.
Surprises happen when we:
- stop paying attention
- fail to communicate expectations
Typically, we get derailed by something urgent. We dive into the weeds, ignoring important indicators about our people, projects, or problems. And then we fail to clarify or confirm expectations.
The result? Surprise! … which causes confusion, distraction, upset, and even chaos. And missed opportunities to lead and unlock potential.
And it’s all unnecessary.
When you’re the leader of a program, a project, or a team, you should never be surprised. After you communicate your expectations, you should be looking for signals, asking for status, checking on progress, inviting questions, and measuring success.
Strong sales leaders never wait until the end of the quarter to discover their team’s results. Rather, they leverage weekly reports and team updates.
Even pilots are in ongoing contact with air traffic control to ensure their plane is on track to their destination.
So when I met up with Marcel last year, I was bewildered by his whim for surprise! He was headed to the closing celebration for the mentoring program he launched. He said, “I’m so excited! I cannot wait to hear how it went for my Mentors and Mentees!”
Leaders should never get to the end of a program, a project, or a quarter and wonder how it went.
Because we can’t course-correct if there is no longer a course.
Hate surprises. Love expectations.
© 2020. Ann Tardy and Mentor Lead. www.mentorlead.com | www.anntardy.com |
