Professional relationships come with expectations!

All of your coworkers, regardless of their position, want you to support them in different ways.

How can you better meet the expectations of your colleagues?

Meet with your colleagues and ask them directly:

"How can I help you do your job?"

Note their answers in a tracking document on your work device.

Sam from Accounting

"I need to know on a regular basis how much your department is spending."

Min Ji from Front Desk

"We need better communication between reception and your office."

Sofia & Rafael from Design

"Are there any flaws with the product? Let us know."

Ali from Marketing

"I need more information about our clients and what they want."

Now that you know what your coworkers expect from you:

• make a list of concrete actions you can take

• use action verbs to align your actions with their expectations

Add the plan to your tracking document.

Sam from Accounting

• submit a weekly expense report every Friday morning

Min Ji from Front Desk

• create a chat group on Slack to connect department staff to reception

Sofia & Rafael from Design

• create a shareable Google Doc file for product feedback

Ali from Marketing

• assemble a quarterly call with each client and invite Ali to join

When you follow through on your action plan:

• get feedback from your colleagues and note it in your tracking document

• reflect on their feedback and consider improvements for next time

Sam from Accounting

• "Great document!"

• "Can you add more details?"

Min Ji from Front Desk

• "The Slack group is working well."

• "I'd like to create some channels for different topics."

  Sofia & Rafael from Design

• "The shared doc is well-organized."

• "I think we should let some clients see the doc."

Ali from Marketing

• "I'm getting valuable info from these calls."

• "Can we tighten the agenda so the meetings are shorter?"

The Bottom Line

Listen to your colleagues!

Identify their expectations and take action.

Implement their feedback on your actions to meet their expectations even better next time.

Now it's your turn!

Who are your colleagues?

What do they expect from you?

What steps can you take to meet those expectations?