Dickens’ classic, Great Expectations was about the hopes and dreams of Pip, to grow up a gentleman and capture the heart of the cold hearted Estella. Fast forward to modern day London.
This is 2012, the Olympic year, and what a time for expectations. Finishing third on the medal table this year is testament to the hard work and dedication shown by Team GB. When you look at that medal table it’s hard to say it doesn’t go above and beyond what anyone in Britain thought our athletes could achieve.
When you look a bit closer however, expectation levels become slightly blurred. Take the pool, for instance. Expectations were high, especially after the unexpected six medal haul in Beijing four years ago. However, despite strong performances from Team GB swimmers the prediction of minimum five medals was too high.
Team GB walked away with three. Supporters walked away disappointed.
Flip attention to the velodrome. Team GB smashed our wildest dreams making Sir Chris Hoy the most decorated British Olympian ever. Couple that with the Tour de France victory for Bradley Wiggins. Suddenly, everything the cycling team touch turns to gold.
Expectations are a fascinating part of business as well, in particular around team performance. You see, high performing teams recognise the importance of the satisfying the external environment – customers, supporters, sponsors and key stakeholders. By recognising those all-important stakeholders, high performing teams also understand what is expected of them in terms of the results required to exceed expectation levels and be deemed ‘successful’.
What this ultimately boils down to is one question: how connected are you to the external environment? Without that connection, how will you ever understand what your sponsors’, supporters’ and customers’ success criteria are?
Let’s look at the airlines as an example of success criteria. If you book your flights with British Airways, for instance, you have an idea of what to expect from them and the service level you will receive. Now, if you compare that to the expectations of a Ryanair passenger they will be far lower. Why? Because Ryanair is clear to its customers that it’s a ‘no frills’ airline. British Airways is quite different.
• Ryanair success criteria: Cheap tickets, moderately comfortable, polite service
• British Airways success criteria: Very comfortable journey, extremely polite service, extra value (free drinks, good food, etc) at every opportunity
How much time and effort does your team invest in collaborating with the outside world to determine what must be delivered in order to be a high performing team?
Clive Hook
ClearWorth: Six Conversations for High Performing Teams
