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Three Ways to Better Manage Your Expectations as an Executive Leader

October 11, 2017 By Dave Ferguson Leave a Comment

Three Ways to Better Manage Your Expectations as an Executive Leader

dave-ferguson-forbes-article Featured article by Dave Ferguson in Forbes Coaches Council. Reprinted by permission.

I talk a lot about the criticism that comes on the path to success. But what about the psychology of failure? Did you know that how you manage your expectations can define your performance as an executive leader?

Laird Hamilton once said, “Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your two ears.”

Everyone falls victim to negative thoughts. They are often unpredictable and catch us off guard.

They come to tell us we aren’t good enough, that we are lazy, selfish, and that we just aren’t made of “the right stuff.”

Here’s the truth:

Having negative thoughts is a normal process on the road to personal and professional development.

Success and failure can be largely defined through how you manage your expectations. Setting tangible, concise goals and delivering those results help keep negative thoughts at bay.

Through my experience, there are three steps you need to take to effectively manage your expectations. Memorize and share them with your team to start building a culture of collaboration and transparency in your organization.

Base your own expectations in reality.

A common problem in today’s work culture is when an executive leader sets unrealistic goals.

When establishing expectations for a project, are you taking into account disruptions, setbacks, obstacles, and other interferences to the “ideal” condition? Do you have the tools you need in order to achieve your goals?

Taking time to reflect on these questions and assess your answers is critical. Basing your expectations in reality provides a better opportunity to position yourself to face criticism from others as well as from yourself.

Customize a clear and focused message.

Goals should not be kept secret. An effective executive leader clearly communicates goals to teams – simple as that.

Keeping information above water for all to see is critical to building organizational trust. Without that, you’re dead in the water.

When your message is clear and well-defined, people understand what to expect from you. You have also made your expectations their expectations — keeping you in control of your own “success” narrative.

Define benchmark goals to manage your expectations.

Are you your own worst critic? I know I am. We are harder on ourselves than anyone else could be, and yet we are statistically more accountable to other people.

This is why mentorship and professional coaching is a $2 billion industry. Developing personal accountability is directly linked to learning how to expertly manage your expectations.

I walk clients through breaking down large goals into smaller pieces. This makes them more digestible (and grounds my executive leader clients in reality).

Benchmark goals are an effective way to demonstrate progress, which in turn provides a healthy dose of motivation to push ahead.

Remember to recover from mistakes and always move forward. And be careful how you talk to yourself – you are listening.


Dave Ferguson is “The Leaders’ Coach”, an internationally recognized executive leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, and author. Are you interested in talking to Dave about coaching or having Dave speak to inspire and motivate your team? “ASK COACH DAVE” at 704-907-0171 or at Dave@AskCoachDave.com.

Check Your Leadership Ego at the Door

June 14, 2017 By Dave Ferguson Leave a Comment

Check Your Leadership Ego at the Door

Leading a business can be a real thrill. It comes packaged with a good dose of power and prestige by virtue of position.

It also can be a real challenge for those same reasons.

The reality is, being a successful leader requires that you check your ego at the door. Now don’t get me wrong, having faith and pride in what you do is great. Self-confidence is essential.

But when leaders get full of themselves and start inflating their self-worth, things start to crumble. As an executive coach, I am sometimes called in to help fix an employee or team issue that is, in reality, is a leadership ego issue.

It is my responsibility to challenge them on it for their sake and the sake of the organization.

The bottom line is, leadership is not about being served. It is about serving.

Positional leaders are LINOs (Leaders in Name Only). LINOs are never truly respected, and their effectiveness is limited.

Guard against these LINOs in your own leadership or on your leadership team.

The CEO on Steroids

They can’t and won’t build an effective team because they depend too much on themselves. They don’t trust enough to delegate and, quite frankly, don’t believe they need others. These are the micromanagers who limit team performance.

Advice for this leader: Look in the mirror, lighten up, and let go a little. Remember the old saying, “There is no ‘I’ in Team.” Say it 1000 times every day, while you’re running on the treadmill.

The Know-it-All

These leaders have little to no commitment to personal growth. They would never think of hiring a business coach, because they truly believe they have already arrived. Their bloated egos block them from taking any advice, and learning is a sign of weakness to them.

Advice for this leader: Acknowledge and learn from your failures. Seek an objective accountability partner. Establish a cabinet of expert advisors – and listen to them. Commit to personal and professional growth on a regular basis.

The “I never make hiring mistakes” Leader

These are the leaders who never admit to making bad hiring decisions, but take all the credit for the one great hire. Meanwhile, turnover is costing the company thousands of dollars a year. Many of these so-called leaders actually believe they can take the bottom 20% of their employee base and turn them around. When that doesn’t work, they blame someone else for it.

Advice for this leader: When you figure out the formula for elevating your bottom 20% above mediocre, let the rest of us know. Until then, cut bait quicker and better, or take yourself out of the hiring process. Use an objective and independent source.

 The White Collar Crime Boss

These leaders are so cocky and egotistical that they invent shortcuts, take special privileges, and begin to think they are above the law. As their character plummets, greed and ego escalate to a point of unethical and sometimes criminal behavior. The collateral damage is widespread, both inside the organization and to stockholders and investors.

Advice for this leader: White collar crime is against the law and can bring you down to the level of the elevator beating bandit. Do right and be ethical!

Power and prestige can be either leadership tools – or weapons. We as leaders can use them to serve, inspire others, and to accomplish great goals, or we can use them selfishly, in which case they leave a trail of destruction.

Guard against the LINOs!


Dave Ferguson is “The Leaders’ Coach”, an internationally recognized executive leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, and author. For help in building a truly successful leadership team, “ASK COACH DAVE” at 704-907-0171 or at Dave@AskCoachDave.com.

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