Anticipating Employer Expectations

Everyone talks about setting high standards. No one talks about this part. It's about the people you choose not to keep. Most scaling companies hope people will figure out what high performance looks like. Kaveh Rostampor, CEO of Planhat, shared a different approach in our recent SaaS Scaling Secrets conversation. Before hiring anyone, his team creates an "expectation document" that maps out exactly what success looks like: - Month 1 expectations - Month 3 benchmarks - Month 6 performance markers They define three performance levels in writing: 1️⃣ What great looks like 2️⃣ What mediocre looks like 3️⃣ What unacceptable looks like Then they show candidates the document and ask: "Are you ready to sign up for this?" Here's how it works in practice: The hiring manager creates the document before posting the role They break down 12-month goals into monthly milestones Each milestone gets specific, measurable criteria The document becomes the foundation for all performance conversations The insight that stuck with me? "High standards are not about the things you say. It's about the people you don't keep." This approach is one of the things that enables Planhat to stay cashflow positive while scaling rapidly. The result? Kaveh shared that senior people at Planhat have "almost zero churn."  People who've been there for some time simply don't leave. When expectations are crystal clear from day one, both sides know what success looks like. What's your experience with setting clear expectations?

The 8 Silent Expectations Your Boss Won’t Say Out Loud — But Absolutely Has Most performance problems aren’t about capability. They’re about unspoken expectations. Across my HR leadership career in APAC, I’ve seen one pattern repeat itself: Employees think they’re doing their jobs… while leaders quietly expect something more. Here are the real expectations — the ones rarely written in JD’s but always used in promotion decisions: 1️⃣ Take Initiative Doing what you’re told is the baseline. Leaders notice who anticipates, suggests, and improves things without being asked. Small improvements compound — and signal leadership readiness. 2️⃣ Bring Solutions, Not Problems A boss already carries 100 problems. Pointing out one more doesn’t help. Showing how to fix it does. Even offering one possible solution changes how you’re perceived. 3️⃣ Understand the Bigger Picture You’re not hired for tasks — you’re hired for outcomes. The fastest-growing employees ask: “What does success look like for the team this quarter?” They align up, not sideways. 4️⃣ Make Their Job Easier A secret of high-performers: They remove friction from their manager’s day. “Can I take this off your plate?” One question. Big signal. 5️⃣ Act One Level Up Promotions don’t reward potential. They reward proof. If you want the next level, start behaving like you’re already there: Lead a small project Mentor someone Take ownership beyond your lane 6️⃣ Take Feedback Like a Pro Feedback isn’t a threat — it’s an accelerant. The employees who grow fastest are the ones who say: “Tell me the area that would make the biggest difference this month.” Curiosity beats defensiveness every time. 7️⃣ Be Consistent Daily Reliability is an underrated superpower. One great week means nothing if the next two slip. Consistency builds trust. Trust builds opportunity. 8️⃣ Invest in Your Own Growth Your boss won’t design your development plan. That’s your responsibility. Choose one skill each quarter and commit. People who grow deliberately always outpace people who grow accidentally. The quiet truth: Employees rise not because they’re the smartest —but because they understand expectations that others don’t see. Master these 8 and your career trajectory changes. #Leadership #CareerGrowth #HighPerformance #HRInsights #PeopleDevelopment #WorkplaceWisdom

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟱𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 When I read that statement from Gallup, I did a doubletake. I reread it, thinking I had misread it in my haste to research some data for a presentation. Now, I have to ask: "HOW CAN THAT BE?" I could not help but wonder: Could this be related to the high number of unengaged employees? Then I turned to a theory: Is this a result of managers being afraid of being called micromanagers? I think they are related, although I have no proof yet. However, I am still researching it, and I have some anecdotal evidence that it might be. So, what do leaders do in the meantime? Gallup recommends that leaders: 🔸 Provide Clear Expectations: Set clear, specific goals for employees, ensuring they understand their role and what success looks like. 🔸 Ongoing Communication: Foster regular, open dialogue between managers and employees, making expectations a continuous conversation rather than a one-time event. 🔸 Tailor Expectations to Individual Strengths: Align employees' roles and goals with their individual strengths and talents, helping them perform at their best. 🔸 Use Strengths-Based Coaching: Train managers to coach employees through their unique strengths, empowering them to meet or exceed expectations. 🔸 Create Accountability Structures: Establish regular check-ins and feedback mechanisms to ensure alignment and help employees stay on track. However, the first thing that must be done is for the direct manager to sit down regularly—once a week or every two weeks—to determine how things are going. This is the one-on-one meeting owned by each employer/direct report to the manager. In this meeting, the direct report needs to report on: 1. What I accomplished this week related to the goals. 2. Where do I need help: removal of obstacles, training, and coaching? 3. What I am working on over the next week to accomplish related to the goals. If a manager structures a meeting like this, there is no doubt that every employee will know what is expected of them. And those of you who think this is micromanaging, you are incorrect. Having a structured one-on-one meeting creates a bond, a synergy between the employee and manager, to support one another and get things done. By implementing these practices, leaders can ensure their teams are focused, engaged, and working toward shared goals. Your partner in success, Joe Murphy ⏰ Leadership Insights video series (5 PM ET Mon-Fri) 📣Cool to repost 🔔Follow me for more success tips #CHROs #LeadersatAllLevels #TheLeadershipAcademy

What’s the #1 cause of frustration and friction you encounter as an organizational leader? We believe the answer centers on “unmet expectations.” We have observed a common 4-step cycle when companies hire new employees and begin setting expectations. The cycle goes like this: Step 1: Hope. After a new hire, the supervisor is hopeful the new employee will fulfill their assigned role perfectly, and the employee is excited about their new job. Step 2: Unclear expectations. Rarely does the supervisor take the time to engage the new employee and deliver a clear duty description with roles and responsibilities. Despite not delivering clear expectations, the supervisor is sure that the employee understands their expectation of “ABC” but often the employee has a very different picture of the expectations and believes their job entails “XYZ” Thus, they quickly transition to the next step. Step 3: Frustration. The supervisor grumbles, “My darn employee won’t do their job!” While the employee complains, “My boss is a toxic leader!” This leads to a critical decision in Step 4. Step 4: Fire/Quit/Tolerate. The supervisor fires the employee. The employee quits. Or they maintain the work relationship, but the team suffers due to suboptimal performance. A healthy 4-step cycle looks like this: Step 1: Hope. This remains the same. Step 2: Clear Expectations. The supervisor sits down with the employee and gets to know them during onboarding. They both share their backgrounds, hobbies, families, goals, and strengths/weaknesses. The supervisor asks, “What are your expectations of me as your supervisor?” The supervisor creates an environment of caring engagement and open communication. Only when this is complete, does the supervisor clearly lay out the expectations for the employee in the form of 1) Company Values 2) Required Skills 3) Roles and Responsibilities 4) Goals/Key Performance Indicators. Step 3: Review Standards. The supervisor regularly sits down with the employee and reviews these agreed upon standards. The supervisor praises the employee for areas of compliance, holds them accountable for areas of non-compliance, and helps the employee solve problems and develop in their role. Step 4: Conform or Leave. The supervisor is on a firm foundation and the employee chooses to either conform to the clear standards or leave the team. This healthy cycle is vital to solving two critical aspects of organizational leadership. The first is building culture. The values the supervisor describes to the employee are the desired cultural values of the company. Relaying the importance of these at the outset and routinely reinforcing them is essential to building the company’s desired culture. The second aspect is holding people accountable. The clear initial discussion and following one-on-ones minimize emotions from the equation and make holding someone accountable a much easier and feasible endeavor. Looking for more leadership development? Message me!

If you want to become a better manager overnight,  I would teach you this one skill: Setting Clear Expectations Why?  It is the single highest leverage activity you can do.  And nearly everyone leading a team does it poorly.  Or not at all. 📌 If you're the Manager: Setting expectations is your number 1 job. Your team will never meet your secret expectations.  Despite their effort, they're always falling short. The vicious cycle builds massive frustration. 💡 The Solution: Make Expectations Explicit - Agree on the What & When (SMART goals or OKRs work) - Agree on How (process, tech, budget, culture all matter) - Agree on KPIs or Metrics (how you'll measure results) Have them send you an email summarizing. Two more tips for managers: ✅ Co-author - Give them the pen on the first draft. - They're more likely to stick to the script they wrote. - You'll also learn how they see their role and can coach better. ✅ Consistency - Expectations are imperfect, so give feedback. - Agree upfront on how and when this will happen. - Use your 1:1 check-ins to review expectation monthly. ----- 📌 If you're the Employee: Why try and guess what your boss wants you to do? If the expectations map above makes sense... 💡 Write them down yourself. - If you're right, you have a written contract.  - If you're wrong, you gain clarity when they fix them. Either way, you gain clarity on how to win. Two more tips for employees: ✅ Synthesize - Focus on the big picture, not every detail - You create more value if you can connect the dots ✅ Empathize - Your manager will not have every answer - You can help them by surfacing the right questions ----- I've seen plenty of employees "win the second half."  But to win, you must understand the game's rules. And clear expectations create the scoreboard. Want my template to set clear employee expectations? Join 45,000 leaders getting my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eCvpr7RY And before you go... - Please repost ♻️ if you think this is a better way to work - Follow me at Dave Kline for more practical leadership posts