How do you feel about expectations? Do you think they are valuable in our lives or do you believe they hamper productivity and cause dissatisfaction? Whatever you believe, consistently managing expectations, our own and others, is one of the most difficult parts of any product development program. The way the team feels about how progress is going can sometimes be more important than the actual reality. How the team feels can dictate the program direction in either the negative or the positive. How any of us feel at any given moment is usually directly related to whether our current expectations are being met. A result we did not expect occurs; are we happy, angry, upset or looking for someone to blame.
“The way the team feels about how progress is going can sometimes be more important than the actual reality.”
We all have expectations in every part of our lives. Expectations related to business programs can be particularly difficult. Money, time, and quality results are usually the culprits here. These expectations can have real consequences; consequences that affect the ultimate success of the program. Expectations are arbitrary, and even if we don’t realize it, we have enormous power in affecting our own and others. An example, someone on the team believes a particular task should take less time and require fewer resources than you believe are needed. How can that expectation possibly be addressed and a new one established, especially if that person holds a leadership position?
At this point the expectation has been set and can be much more difficult to counter. The time to address expectations is before they are made. This is done by educating and setting the proper ground work before the program starts. In my last blog on communication, (https://www.driveninnovation.com/blog/2020/1/28/the-mindset-change-to-master-any-communication-forever ) I talked about how to effectively get others to understand the reality you wish to establish. If someone on your team expects a task to happen more quickly than you can achieve, and that expectation is not rectified, you will always be fighting against the notion that you are somehow not doing things correctly and taking too long. That negative overtone will taint all communication to some degree. Negative expectations are a killer for creativity, team collaboration and overall team wellbeing.
How does one manage expectations of team members, clients or managers in regard to product development and invention programs? These programs are all about creating something new and by definition, are perfect candidates for rampant expectations by everyone on the team. After all, if you don’t push yourself and your design concept to the limits and beyond, how can you possibly come up with anything new? And yet, failures from pushing the limits, no matter how valuable they are in lessons learned, rarely go hand in hand with statements like “great job” let’s fail some more! The further along in the process, the more those missteps seem to hurt. The pressure of limited time and resources are always an issue. The real question to ask when you begin any new program is, “What are the possible expectations of your team for your particular program?”
“ Negative expectations are a killer for creativity, team collaboration and overall team wellbeing. ”
If you ask directly you may get unrealistic answers or no concrete answers at all. Setting expectations is not easy work. It requires knowledge, experience and confidence to effectively get a team in alignment on what to expect and ultimately how that reality will lead to program success. In the end, no matter what the expectations are, there needs to be a path to success along with the resources to get there. Here are a few ways to set expectations so the entire team knows what to expect. These points will help everyone remain positive with the program process and handle the difficult parts with more ease.
Set the program expectations from the very beginning. Undoing exceptions is a difficult thing to do. Try setting the expectations at a top level first, and then set more granular expectations as issues arise later on in the process. It can be hard to set expectations for problems that may or may not occur in the future. Trying to address every possible outcome at the beginning of a program can be exhausting and overly negative. But…you can be very aware of the key areas where problems typically occur in your product development process. Set the top level expectations in these areas educating the team on what to expect.
Rank the ultimate goals of the program and share them with every team member. All programs start with an end goal in mind, even if it changes later on. Not every part of a program is as important as the other parts. These points may seem obvious, but often team members working on both critical and less critical areas of the project don’t know the end goal or the importance of their part in relation to that end goal. Working in a vacuum is one way that expectations get mismanaged. Problems can occur when team members work in isolation on their particular part. Then when the separate parts come together, the solutions may not satisfy the end goal.
To keep all team members aware of the end goal may require including information that seems non relevant to their particular task on that program. An example is; a designer of a particular part of a product was not apprised of all the manufacturing goals and therefore could not meet the expectation. The result, their product solution for that particular part of the design may not be manufacturable at the target price. In this example, having the cost expectation set at the beginning of the program, communicated with the entire team, could have prevented this situation.
“Problems can occur when team members work in isolation on their particular part. ”
Understand your manufacturing processes, their potential problems and limitations. Expectations are particularly troublesome in areas of transition. Transition from one discipline to another, such as engineering to manufacturing are where many problems occur and the issue of unmet expectations can sidetrack you program. Keep this in mind as you plan your design. The more you push your design process and the more innovative your program is, the bigger the chance that expectations will not be met. When you understand the limitations and possible pitfalls in development processes, it is easier to set proper expectations.
Know the limits of your particular program. One of biggest problems with expectations being unmet, occurs when there are mistakes or development problems. As much as we talk about failing fast and often to get to the right solution, the reality is no one likes failure. Disappointment, anger, and frustration can happen if you push your program beyond the resources and the will of the team. It can be very difficult to know where the breaking point of any particular program is in regard to how inventive the solution should be versus the time and energy required to get to a successful solution. The more you dig into this area, the more you can manage your program effectively.
“Disappointment, anger, and frustration can happen if you push your program beyond the resources and the will of the team.”
If your program has anything less than unlimited budget or time limitations, (and of course no program does) be realistic with how far you are pushing your design solution. If you don’t know what the real driving forces are behind you particular development program, it will be very difficult to meet expectations.
Get to know your team, clients and partners to learn what their existing expectations might be. This is a process that takes time, but can begin immediately. The more effort you put into this area, the more benefit you will see. It is always good to establish clear communication, trust and understanding between team members. This helps to establish realistic expectations that can be agreed upon.
Let go of expectations and focus on the process – Expectations really are wasted energy. In every aspect of life, expectations force us out of the present moment and into the future as we contemplate what we think we want. They don’t accomplish anything and ultimately do more to derail us than anything else. Expectations may even be the source of our unhappiness. In regard to development programs, it does no good to expect anything. The fact that we expect a specific result, never guarantees we will receive it. It is far better to focus our energy on what we can do and be the best at that. Then be prepared for anything.
“In every aspect of life, expectations force us out of the present moment and into the future as we contemplate what we think we want.”
Product development programs that require long timelines and large groups to complete will not go smoothly unless effort and energy is put into making them so. There are many factors to creating a successful program. Setting and managing expectations is right at the top. Try adding these tips to your repertoire and see how much more effectively your program can function.
Contact us at DrivenInnovation.com if you want to know more about this or have a product development problem you need solved.