Explicit expectations
This post originally appeared in Dr. Rachel A. Larimore’s weekly Samara newsletter on May 16, 2023. If you’re interested in receiving these emails, scroll to the bottom of this page to subscribe.
I’ve gotten a slough of recent emails from early childhood educators with some version of “I’m so sorry for the slow reply.” Each time I think “No worries! You’re SUPER busy and I didn’t expect a speedy response anyway. Then, a colleague sent me this article by Adam Grant titled “Your Email Does Not Constitute My Emergency.” Yes!
This got me thinking about expectations in general.
An expectation is our idea of how things are going to look and feel at a given moment. We can have expectations around how a family event will be organized, outcomes of professional learning workshops, how someone might react during a staff meeting, and even email.
Often these expectations are implied, but not explicit. This is when problems can arise. If expectations don’t match reality we can experience resentment, frustration, and a myriad of other emotions. It’s for this reason it’s important to be clear about our expectations–to ourselves and to others involved.
Stating expectations can be as simple as “you are leading Large Group this morning, correct?” Or perhaps a director saying to a teacher, “I’d like your updates for the school newsletter to include a story about a moment of play and at least two photos. Please submit this by XX date.” This will help everyone be more productive and minimize the potential for misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
As Adam Grant said in The New York Times article:
“...clarifying expectations isn’t just good for our well being: Evidence from the transition to remote work during the pandemic shows that when managers are explicit about their communication expectations—including target response times—their employees report being more productive and effective in their daily tasks.”
This week I encourage you to think about the expectations you have throughout the day. Have you made those expectations clear to yourself? To your co-workers? To children? To families?
The other people might not be able or want to meet our expectations, but sharing them aloud allows for ongoing communication. For example, you may ask families to pick up their child’s extra outdoor gear by a certain date and time. The family may respond that they’ll be out of town that day, but will come the following week. While they can’t meet your original expectations, you can now avoid feeling frustrated on pick-up day.
I find when I’m stressed and rushed I’m more likely to have uncommunicated expectations. If you’re like me, communicating expectations at this time of year is even more important. So, here’s to being explicit in our expectations so we can all be happier and more effective in our work!
Keep changing lives,
Rachel
Rachel A. Larimore, Ph.D., Chief Visionary of Samara Learning
To help set expectations…
One straight-forward way to set expectations for your staff (especially if you are hiring now or soon!) and the potential and current families in your program is to have a clear, detailed & informative website. If you need guidance on all of the topics & details to include, check out our What’s of the Website: A Checklist and Tips for Nature-based School Websites. We’ve got your bases covered!
