Managing Expectations in Relationships

Managing Expectations in Relationships 480 480 Margot

“Expectation” is a heavy word. We all expect things from one another. 🤝But what we do not realize is that every person is unique and trying to benchmark expectations from the other person based on your own assumptions can be detrimental to any business relationship. In this month’s TCP Webinar on “ Building relationships in a diverse culture”, the topic of managing expectations while building cross-cultural relationships came up. From the many valuable lessons and anecdotes shared by the experts – Sheila, Tan & Margot- one thing was common. 🔑Making the effort to understand the human at the other end is the key to success in managing expectations. While it’s not possible to not have any expectations as a human being, one would be best served by guiding one’s expectations towards being curious about the other person. Observe them carefully to know what motivates them, how they behave, what makes them comfortable, and set expectations accordingly. There is only so much that books and research can tell us about behaviors in different cultures but observation is a very powerful tool to know the person you are dealing with and adjust your style of communication accordingly. #Leadership #CrossCulturalRelationships #Communication