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An important part of organizational expectations should come from what
the customers, clients, and stakeholders want the organization to deliver.
Of course, the only way to know what these expectations are is to ask.
However, this “asking” should be done carefully and systematically so that

the feedback clearly demonstrates what their expectations are.

When top management is not clear with people about what the
organization needs and what is expected, the stage is set for mismatched
expectations. This leads to wasted time and resources because work often
has to be redone or important schedules aren’t met. Because the list of
expectations could be almost infinite, they haven’t been listed here. These
should be developed by organizational leadership as relevant to the
situation, the work flow, and/or the staff.

Exercise 17: Defining Expectations

Take a typical problem or work situation for the organization, such as
working with a prospect? Ask each of the following groups to list their
specific expectations for that situation:

• Members of the Board
• Funders or contributing members
• Top management
• Staff

Review these stated expectations, and develop a common set of
them that reflects the input from all above sources. Discuss the
process for communicating and meeting these expectations
successfully.

Practices accountability

Accountability implies risk and reward. A leader earns rewards for success
and accepts penalties for failure. When a leader takes responsibility for
results and shows a concern for meeting expectations, he or she is held in
high esteem by followers. A strong self-leader takes responsibility for his
or her own success, and doesn’t blame others or point fingers when things

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