By Anne Grady, C1 Contributor
We’ve all been there. Whether it’s because someone is a guest in your house or it’s your significant other, someone has replaced the toilet paper in your bathroom, and they put it on in the wrong direction.
Are you an over or an under? I mean, do you place the toilet paper going over the roll or under the roll? Clearly, if you’re an under, you are just plain wrong! Over is obviously the best choice because you can spin the roll to find the end. If you’re an under, you have to really search for it.
So how do you learn to lead more effectively from a roll of toilet paper?
Speak the unspoken
We all have unspoken expectations. In this case, it’s how the toilet paper should go. In life, it can be just about anything. I have learned that most people fail to meet your expectations not because they can’t, don’t want to, or don’t care, but because they don’t know what your expectations are.
Meetings, projects and relationships all revolve around our expectations of each other. When people fail to meet yours, your first question should be: Did I clearly communicate what my expectations were?
I’ll give you an example. My husband decided to clean our grill, and while he put it back together, he didn’t put the grease pan back in. While I was grilling up hamburgers, my little white dog sat under the grease pan and was just licking up all of the grease. It was a sight to behold.
I yelled into the house, “I can’t believe you didn’t replace the grease pan!”
He yelled back, “I can’t believe you started to grill without checking first!”
What just happened?
Communicate clearly
While this is a trivial example, the same kind of thing happens in every household, in every office, and in every relationship. We get frustrated with people for not doing what we had expected them to do, when in reality they can’t read our minds and may not have even known what our expectation really was.
Take the time to think about your expectations, at work and at home, and then communicate them. It could be as simple as clearly explaining that you expect someone to meet a deadline or not engage you in office gossip. Bottom line: if you want people to meet your expectations, they have to know what those expectations are.
Oh, and if you’re an under, you should totally re-think your toilet paper strategy!
Anne Grady is the President of Acclivity Performance. For over fifteen years Anne has helped lead organizations and leverage the strengths of individuals and teams. Anne holds a master’s degree in Organizational Communication. Through her Organizational Development work with a diverse array of companies, not-for-profits, governmental agencies, and individuals, she has developed a unique ability to implement solutions for the real issues we face today. But it is the candor with which she draws from her personal experiences, combined with her humor and wit, that set Anne apart from the rest.