The power of positivity
A core method of managing expectations is turning "honesty time", a much dreaded moment for both members of the conversation, into a positive, teaching moment that focuses on improvement. However, it goes beyond that because even before that talk, a team should know that he/she isn't trying to bite anyone's head off. Teaching from a negative, "gotcha" mentality will always result in a team that is afraid to branch out, one that is afraid to make mistakes. Keeping conversation