By Nancy Patrick | KBI Digital
You hand off an assignment, answer a few questions, and move on to the next item on your list. A few days later, the work comes back—and it is not what you expected.
The employee looks confused. You feel frustrated. You thought the instructions were clear.
But were they clear to the person doing the work, or only to you?
Before you decide someone needs to take more initiative, pay closer attention, or improve their performance, ask yourself one question: Did I actually explain what success looks like?
In my book, Manage the Work. Lead the People., I devote Chapter 5 to setting clear expectations because so many problems start long before a missed deadline or disappointing result. They start with an assumption that everyone understands the assignment the same way.
What Is Obvious to You May Be Invisible to Someone Else
When you have worked on a team for years, certain things become automatic. You know who reviews a report, which stakeholder needs to be consulted, and what your manager means by “ready.”
A new employee does not have that history. Even an experienced employee can struggle when moving into a different role or taking on unfamiliar work.
In the book’s fictional example, a new analyst named Wei sends a report directly to a business director. The report contains an error that the team’s review process would have caught. The problem? Nobody explained that review process to Wei.
His manager expected him to follow a rule he had never been told existed.
That is a useful reminder for any manager: review steps, approval requirements, decision authority, and communication habits are all expectations. Leaving them unwritten does not make them common knowledge.
Describe the Result You Need
“Update the dashboard” sounds like an assignment. It still leaves plenty of room for guessing.
Which information needs to change? Who will use it? Is the deadline for a first draft or a finished product? Does “update” include redesigning the layout?
Try something more specific:
“Please prepare a review version of the sales dashboard by Thursday at noon. The regional managers need to compare this month’s results with their targets and identify the three largest gaps. Use the approved data source, keep the current layout, and flag any data issues before the review. We will approve it before it goes to the wider group.”
That explanation gives the employee a result, a purpose, a deadline, a quality expectation, and a boundary.
The same approach works beyond analytics. Whether someone is preparing a presentation, responding to a customer, or organizing an event, they need to understand what the finished work must accomplish.
Before handing off an assignment, clarify:
The outcome: What needs to be delivered, and why does it matter?
The timing: When is it due, and is that a draft, review, or final deadline?
The standard: What must be accurate, complete, or approved?
The boundaries: What constraints apply, and what is outside the scope?
The authority: Which decisions can the employee make, and who must be consulted?
Replace “Do You Understand?” with a Conversation
Most people will say yes when you ask whether they understand, especially if you seem busy or ready to end the meeting.
A better way to check is to invite them to explain their approach:
“What do you see as the final outcome?”
“What will you tackle first?”
“What might prevent you from meeting that deadline?”
Make this a shared check on the assignment, not a test of the employee. You are looking for differences in interpretation while there is still time to resolve them.
One practice I share in the book is starting a project with a kickoff meeting and then asking for a project plan or meeting notes. Seeing the work mapped out helps reveal whether the requirements and expected outcomes are understood.
It also gives the employee a chance to identify a dependency or missing resource you may have overlooked.
When Priorities Change, Explain What Moves
A team can understand every individual assignment and still struggle if all of them are treated as the top priority.
Adding an urgent request without adjusting anything else leaves employees to decide which commitment they will disappoint you on.
When something new moves to the front of the line, make the tradeoff explicit:
“The customer issue is our first priority today. Move the internal report to Friday, and let me know if that affects another commitment.”
That is a management decision your team should not have to guess at.
The book connects clear expectations with both execution and direction. People need to know what to do, but they also need to understand why it matters and how it fits with the rest of the work.
Clarity Gives People Room to Own the Work
Being specific about expectations does not require prescribing every step.
You can define the outcome, deadline, quality standard, and decision boundaries while giving a capable employee room to choose an approach. Agree on checkpoints that fit the complexity and risk of the assignment, along with the person’s experience.
When those agreements are missing, managers can fall into repeated status requests because they are unsure what is happening. Employees can become hesitant because they are unsure what they are allowed to decide.
Clear expectations create a more useful starting point for accountability. If a commitment is missed, you can discuss the agreed standard, what happened, and what support or corrective action is needed.
Try This: Check One Assignment for Missing Expectations
Chapter 5 includes an Expectation Map exercise. Use this short adaptation with one assignment already underway:
Write down the expected outcome and deadline.
Identify the quality standard and any constraints.
List the decisions the employee can make independently.
Decide how you will confirm shared understanding.
Then talk with the employee. Where do your descriptions match? Where are you each filling in gaps with assumptions?
If you discover something you never explained, own it: “I realize I had an expectation I hadn’t made clear. Let’s clarify it now.”
That conversation gives you a fairer foundation for the work ahead. It also shows your team that asking questions is welcome.
Make Clarity Part of How You Lead
Your team should not have to discover your expectations by disappointing you.
Before the next assignment, take a few extra minutes to explain the result, the reason it matters, the boundaries, and the tradeoffs. Then listen to how the other person understands it.
That small habit can prevent unnecessary rework and make it easier for people to take ownership with confidence.
If you want to put these ideas into practice, my book, Manage the Work. Lead the People., explores clear expectations, accountability, delegation, trust, and employee development. It includes chapter exercises, practical worksheets, and a 30-day challenge to help you turn the ideas into everyday habits.
Explore the book on Amazon: https://link.amazon/B031wtnVX
What is one expectation your team might be guessing about right now?
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