This is Terry Lee; please leave a message – I’ll call you back today.

If you were ever to call our most tenured sales leader, Terry Lee – this is what you would hear. And I love it. Direct, sets an expectation, and the truth is he delivers on it!

It got me thinking about expectations. In many of the discussions I have with executive leaders in their communication, much of the frustration is really around expectations. Their own expectations of what they expect, or their team’s potential disappointment with their expectations not being met.

One of my life principles that I tie into our communications coaching is: Our happiness is based on expectations.

Wondering if or when someone will call you back? Not with Terry Lee, because he’ll call you back ‘today.’ That goes into giving specific actions when managing and leading people. Take away the ambiguity of ‘if’ or not knowing ‘when.’ And the fun part is that both parties appreciate the clarity. This goes into managing up, managing down, managing across, and dealing with boards. (And it helps with kids too!)

It’s why in our Decker Grid and in the cornerstones to start the grid, the specific action forces you to make it ‘timed, physical, or measurable.’ It’s so easy to leave it ambiguous. We need to be clear on what’s expected and when – and you’ll be more influential…today.