EXPECTATIONS

You have them don’t you?

Many people do not know that I spent years working in the Hotel/Resort business prior to working in ministry. It is a very unique industry that demands many long hours and many crazy demands. Many people, even celebrities, have made public comments about everyone should have to work as a waiter or a waitress but I often catch myself wishing that everyone could work in the Hospitality industry for just a few months.

Sure there are the customers, and their endless pursuit of happiness, but the real lessons and value is in working with the employees and the many different levels of staff.

When I first started working for a resort I spent 8 hours a day on a golf cart picking up cigarette butts. That’s it, all day. Look happy, find cigarettes, and dispose of them. Here’s the funny part, I Loved It! After doing that for about 6 months I started working my way through management and within about 3 years I was getting myself into upper management positions within the resort. A position that was “above the reception desk” as many in the resort business refer to it.

During those years in management I learned about something that was amazing. I learned about expectations. Before leaving the hospitality industry I was managing 65 people on a daily basis and was responsible for over 120 staff member’s monthly incentive program. In other words, they either got their money or didn’t because of my recommendations. I don’t tell you this to boost about me, but to instead show you the pressures that I (as their leader) was under. What I realized in this process was that most people truly like attention. No matter if they are an introvert or and extrovert, they like attention. They like going home at night knowing that they helped someone, or made someone’s day and they got recognized for it. What I learned however is that many people go to work each day and their boss or their leader robs them of this opportunity. How do Leaders rob them of this you ask? Easy, they never 100%, specifically let their teams and staff know what their expectations are as their leader. Many leaders have this way of not talking about the basics because they think “they should know that” when referring to their staff. Or even worse, you hear comments like “what are they stupid” etc. Unfortunately, this all comes back to YOU, their leader.

LEADERS please hear me, most people want to BEAT your expectations, the problem is, YOU, haven’t clearly defined those expectations to them.

You don’t think so?

Question?
Remember being a little kid, on Christmas Eve?

What you were selling in your speech and in your actions in the weeks and days before Christmas, were your expectations to your Parents.

Parents. Remember Christmas Eve? Many of you probably sit and talked it over with your spouse about what all each one of your children got and at some point either on Christmas Eve or weeks or days before that, you asked yourself, “Is this going to meet his or her expectations?”

Now you may have not said that exact line, but at some point, you thought about it.

The only way you even knew it was going to meet his or her expectations or not meet his or her expectations was because they clearly made you aware of their expectations before Christmas.

What happens when you clearly know what someone’s expectations are of you?

Yep, you got it, you try to not only meet them, but you try to beat them.

Leaders please, clearly and lovingly make sure you tell your teams your expectations, because most of your people (despite what you might think), want to beat them!

Imagine that!