Overcoming Employee's Limiting Expectations

Exceptional leaders know that people who have limiting expectations restrict their thinking and actions. Leaders also know that expectations stem from people's belief systems. Beliefs develop as internally consistent sets of filters in our awareness. Those who adopt limiting beliefs do not see them as such. They consider their limiting beliefs as valid.

Successful leaders root out these limiting expectations and challenge their reality. Identify expectations that you feel limit action and outcomes. Acknowledge the reality of limited expectations. That is, concede that another's expectations have validity based on that person's knowledge, experience, assumptions, and values. Give people the chance to justify their limiting expectations and get specific information. Ask, "Why do you say that?" Summarize your understanding of their point of view by saying, "The way you describe it, that is true," or, "I agree with your expectations given the way you look at the situation."

Your acknowledgment paves the way for them to be receptive to another perspective. Challenge what you perceive as their limiting expectation. Ask them to consider how their expectations actually serve them. Suggest other ways to interpret the situation, and offer your point of view as an alternative versus an actuality. Ask people to consider the benefits of your more positive expectation in contrast with their own. Use a soft hand when necessary.

Another technique is to engage a group to address the limiting expectations held by an individual or subset of people. The collective consciousness of ten people may be more convincing than your singular efforts. It may be necessary to "let the data speak" in order to overcome limiting expectations. Use hard evidence.

For example, consider retail e-commerce. In its early days, many experts held the belief that online retail shopping would not become a major channel for businesses. Several limiting "realities" existed. Credit card security would be difficult to maintain given the penchant for hackers to break into the network. Shoppers would not be comfortable with a point-and-click experience for items they typically preferred to physically examine. The shipping logistics for retail sales of single items would be a nightmare.

Skeptics agreed that online retail shopping sounded nice, but it would not really be doable on a massive scale. Then another reality emerged. In 1999, during Thanksgiving and New Year's, an estimated 26.4 million Americans shopped online. They spent $5 billion online, or more than triple the amount spent during Christmas 1998, which analysts had christened the first e-holiday. Once enough people started pointing and clicking their way to online malls, the limiting expectations faded away. Sometimes you may have to wait until you get such hard evidence to overcome a limiting expectation.