Living and leading in the age of diminished expectations

At the end of my undergraduate studies in economics, I read a book by Paul Krugman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, “The Age of Diminished Expectations”.

Paul wrote masterfully in plain English a “guidepost” to the US economic landscape in the 1990s and flagged the inappropriate posture of policymakers toward the prevailing economic situation. He believed “high hopes have been replaced by, at best, stoic acceptance.”

According to him, most people found the current levels of income, prosperity, inflation, and welfare acceptable even though the data points to a decline in the rate of progress.

The economy has done worse in a decade than anyone would have predicted. In his view, leaders were living with diminished expectations and had accepted the status quo and “nobody is likely to do much about them”.

Later, when I was drawn to finance and stock markets, I read another book, “The City: Inside the Great Expectations Machine: Myth and Reality in Institutional Investment and the Stock Market”, by Tony Golding.

I learned the role expectations play in financial markets and setting asset prices. Unfortunately, many individuals whose expectations and fortunes are tied to the stock market know little about the expectations of big institutional investors whose behaviours drive the stock market machine.

Expectations play a significant role not only in macroeconomic outcomes but also in life and leadership in general. In my work with leaders and organisations, I have found expectations compelling.

The expectations we set for ourselves and our teams define our reality. I can appreciate why a young graduate will be tempted to give up on his expectations of a better life he had upon graduation after looking for a job for over three years without success.

The experience can be demoralising. However, giving up on your expectations has dire consequences as the effort put into the job search process is reduced, which lowers the possibility of success and puts the individual on a slippery slope to achieving poor outcomes. Clearly, giving up on your expectations does not lead to
pleasant outcomes.

Reflecting on the meaningful role of expectations, I define leadership as – “establishing, extending and sustaining expectations – the expectations of the team, firm, clients, etc”. Meeting and/or exceeding stakeholder expectations sustains and extends already established expectations.

Ineffective leadership cuts off expectations. And when there are no expectations, there is little evolution. What drives learning and leadership is the pursuit of our highest expectations. When there are no expectations, there is no hunger for leadership.

I use the word “expectations” to refer to what we see as possible in our lives, families and communities, which shape the aspirations we set for ourselves.

Unfortunately, the current dark clouds have challenged the expectations of many leaders. Some leaders have lowered expectations because of the prolonged challenges in our environment.

Others have decided not to have expectations altogether. Leaders must be determined to hold on to their expectations rather than choosing to live and lead with diminished expectations.

It is easy to justify adopting a non-expectant posture or jettisoning our expectations because of the circumstances around us. It looks fashionable not to have expectations.

I have come across leaders who use their lack of expectations to signal that they understand the situation better. This is not leadership.

Today, leaders are expected to set high expectations for families, businesses and communities. How can we tackle the challenges we face today if we do not raise our expectations for the future?

Raise your expectations for life and leadership

Engaging in coaching and learning opportunities inspires and renews leadership expectations.

Higher leadership expectations propel individuals and teams to greatness. The movie “Invictus”, which depicts South Africa’s Rugby Team’s journey to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, gives us a glimpse of this. Mandela has a conversation with Francois Pienaar, the Captain of the Springboks, who is feeling overwhelmed and starting to doubt himself due to the team’s poor performance.

In a masterclass coaching conversation, Mandela asked him to reflect on why he was leading the team and encouraged him to raise his expectations of what his leadership role means to his country and what the team can achieve.

Mandela left him with these words, “We need inspiration, Francios. Because in order to build our nation, we must all exceed our own expectations”.

The Bible gives an account of an encounter between God and Abraham. God had promised to give Abraham a child and a nation.

Abraham could not raise his expectations when he considered that he was childless. God helped Abraham form an expectation of what the promise would look like when it was fulfilled.

One evening, God took Abraham outside his tent, showed him the sky and told him, “Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky”.

This helped Abraham to form an appropriate expectation of the promise. Believing what he had seen, everything changed.

Leadership session

Last year, I facilitated leadership learning sessions for two companies on the same day. The first team were the new leaders of a recently acquired company. The second team led a business that had operated for about 30 years. Reflecting on these two engagements, I realised that both teams had great expectations.

Though most of the executive team members of the 30-year-old company, including the founder, have been around for decades, their expectations have not diminished. I heard both teams of leaders saying, “There are opportunities we have missed, but we are still here and have the energy to pursue new growth areas.

Now, we look forward to the future.” Both teams also acknowledged that the learning session enabled them to recalibrate their expectations. Learning is a revitalising approach to elevating your leadership expectations.

Raising our expectations is a great way to start the change we wish to see. I am not Paul Krugman, but I can tell you the economy will rebound if we hold on to and act on our highest leadership expectations.