Do Expectations lead to Disappoint?

Do you find that your expectations lead to your disappointment? I’m not so sure it’s the expectation that causes someone to be disappointed.

When I was in the position as a director nursing services, I was told by a consultant that members of our team would live up to my expectations. So I blindly believed that if I expected a certain behavior out of the team it would magically happen. Well guess what, it didn’t.

So, what did I do wrong. I didn’t communicate those expectations. When I communicated my expectations to the team, there was a much greater chance of those expectations becoming a reality. What I learned was just because I expected someone to behave in a certain way, or do a certain task, it was really unfair to expect them to read my mind. I needed to clearly communicate what I expected of them before they could take the action.

Watch my You Tube Video about Expectations and Disappointment.

As an Avon representative I’ve seen how my expectations can lead to my disappointment. The difference is, it’s not in how I communicate my expectations, it’s in what actions I take.

So I have certain expectations (goals) I want for my Avon Business but just because I want them doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen. I found that I needed to make a plan.

My expectation was to increase my sales. So I had first of all figure out how to make that happen. I decided I needed to add $200 more in sales each month, ($100 each campaign) and to add 2 new customers (1each campaign) to reach the level of Honor Society ($20,000 annual). I then decided what I would do to make make my expectations a reality. The actions I would take would include leaving brochures at more local businesses, ask all current customers for referrals, and include more samples with brochures.

With the right plan I assumed I would reach my expectations, I could accomplish my goals. But much to my dismay, it didn’t happen, so I was disappointed.

So what happened? The follow through. I had expectations, I had communicated those expectations, and I had developed a plan so what did I miss. The follow through. The best plans are just that plans, until I took action. Yes that seems like a simple concept, but it’s an important step to keep an expectation from becoming disappointment.

So to recap, expectations lead to disappoint without communication, planning, and follow through.

One I followed through with my plan, my expectations became a reality and I actually exceeded then. I had $22,000 in Avon award sales.

If you believe you are ready to set an expectation, make a plan and follow through, you might be ready to Join Avon