What Did You Expect?
Law 1: People Without Clarity Can't Perform
You assign a task that feels simple and obvious. “Get me that client summary by Friday.” On Friday you get something that is technically a “summary,” but nowhere near what you had in mind.
You wanted a one-page, decision-ready brief with key numbers, risks, and a recommendation. They sent three pages of random bullet-point notes and a spreadsheet.
You’re annoyed. They’re confused. And you’re about to torch someone for failing to read your mind.
From where you sit, this looks like a performance problem. From where they sit, they delivered what you asked for. The performance gap here is yours. You didn’t clearly communicate your expectation. You shouldn’t blame them for the ambiguity you created.
Unclear Expectations = Future Resentments
Recent Gallup data shows that only about 45–47% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they know what’s expected of them at work. That’s down from around 55–56% before 2020. Most managers don’t have a “people” problem; they have a communication problem.
Check yourself. In the last month, have you:
Assigned something assuming the person “should just know” what you meant?
Felt crystal clear about an expectation in your head, but never confirmed they heard the same thing?
Treated your personal preference like it was a performance requirement?
If you're nodding, we have some work to do. But here's a more uncomfortable check:
Did you avoid being explicit because it felt awkward, controlling, or because you weren't confident enough in your own standards to state them out loud?
Many managers don't fail to communicate expectations because they don't know how. They fail because they can't tolerate the discomfort of being explicit.
Leaders who won’t be explicit slowly train themselves to tolerate mediocrity while blaming others for it.
This will cost you. Over time, good people may leave. Survivors learn to work defensively. Silent resentment builds between managers and teams. And the manager blames “lazy employees” instead of the system they built.
I’ve been there myself. For too long, I hesitated to stand firmly behind my expectations because I worried about how they’d be received. But a major shift came when I finally accepted that my standards were valid, necessary, and tied directly to the outcomes the business required.
When I stopped apologizing for them and stood by them, some feathers were ruffled and some pushed back. But you know what? People adjusted. Alignment improved. And everyone knew what I was about.
Clarity requires confidence. Know that your standards are worth stating, worth defending, and worth being held to.
It’s Not What You Meant—It’s What They Heard
In the Nine Laws, “Communicate Clear Expectations” is the very first law for a reason. If people don’t know what success looks like, none of the other laws can be applied effectively.
If they can’t repeat it back, it wasn’t communicated.
When people are guessing, it’s almost always because leadership hasn’t made success explicit.
Can each person explain in their own words what they’re responsible for, what “good” looks like, when it’s due, and how it will be judged?
If they can’t, the failure is in your communication, not their character.
Law 1 (clear expectations) sets up Law 2 (measurement) and Law 7 (feedback). If expectations are fuzzy, measurements are meaningless and feedback feels unfair. You can’t rightly measure or coach what you never clearly asked for.
The payoff for fixing this can be significant. Gallup found that when organizations get serious about clarifying expectations, they see about a 9% jump in profitability and roughly an 11% improvement in work quality from that change alone.
This isn’t just a win for the bottom line. When employees strongly agree that their job description and expectations are clear, they’re about 2.5 times more likely to be engaged.
The crucible culture says, “Figure it out or fail.” The forge culture says, “Here’s exactly what success looks like. Now let’s see if you can hit it.”
The “Say It Back” Check
After you set an expectation, add one small step: ask them to say it back.
This isn’t a quiz or a power move. It’s proof the expectation was clear.
Verbally, it sounds like this:
“Ok, just so we’re on the same page, run down for me what I need you to do.”
Over email or chat:
“Please reply with a few bullets of the key points so I know we’re clear.”
Do you need to correct them? Clarify if they missed any point and have them confirm their understanding. Once they can say it back without clarification, you’re done. The expectation has been effectively communicated.
The Friday Summary, Done Right
Imagine that same scenario again, but this time you put that into practice.
You say: “By Friday at 3 p.m., I need a one-page summary of the Acme account with the key numbers, biggest risks, and your recommendation for next quarter. This is for our quarterly revenue review, so it needs to be organized and support your recommended action. Can you do that?”
Then you add: “Run that back to me real quick so I know we’re on the same page.”
They say: “Ok, by Friday at 3 I’ll send you a one-page summary with the latest revenue numbers, any major risks I see, and a recommendation for what we should propose to them next quarter.”
They know exactly what you want. And you know that they understood you correctly.
If they deliver something that falls short, you can then have a fair performance conversation because the expectation existed in both of your heads, not just yours. This is the key to delivering real feedback and accountability.
“They Should Already Know This”
I can’t tell you how many managers I’ve heard balk: “They should already know what I expect.”
No. No one should be expected to read your mind.
Shared history and “they’ve heard me rant about this” is not the same as a clear, present-tense expectation. If you're not willing to state it clearly and confirm they heard it, you’re not ready to hold anyone accountable.
Killing The Crucible
Pick one expectation directly related to performance that is most often missed.
Write down your expectation clearly and specifically: what needs to happen, by when, and what “good” looks like.
Have a short conversation with each member of your team. See if they can tell you what the expectation is. If they don’t get it right, you now have the opportunity to communicate it clearly.
Ask them to say it back. If you need to clarify or correct what they repeat, the expectation isn’t set yet. Keep refining until they can say it back accurately without your help.
Make this a habit and many of your “performance problems” will reveal themselves to be nothing more than expectation problems you finally made clear.
Stop torching people. Start forging them.