Expectations at Work and Home

Unspoken expectations produce disappointment, conflict and eroded trust no matter how good anyone's intentions were. These posts are about the Pygmalion effect, the expectations you never said out loud, and why clarifying them is a leadership responsibility.

8 articles

2026

What Do You Expect... Really? Part II Feb 16

Shared history does not mean shared expectations. Bryan Yager closes his series where the cost is highest: at home.

7 min read

Expecations at Work... A Leadership Responsiblity! Feb 9

Unspoken expectations cost trust. Bryan Yager on why making them explicit is a leadership responsibility, not a courtesy.

5 min read

What Do You Expect... Really? Feb 2

Good intentions do not survive an expectation nobody stated. Part one of Bryan Yager's series on the cost.

6 min read

2024

What's the Difference? Nov 18

Live, love, or lead. Bryan Yager stops on the middle word, and on being kinder to the people closest to him.

7 min read

2022

The Road to Success is Never Straight! Mar 8

Two years since the flight home from a cancelled program. Bryan Yager on a road to success that never runs straight.

5 min read

2021

Violated Expectations Mar 1

One of you wanted the pool, the other wanted the sights. Bryan Yager on expectations nobody ever said out loud.

5 min read

Are You Perfect… Yet? Feb 8

We all know we are not perfect, and we all bristle when someone says so. Bryan Yager on the gap between honesty and ego.

5 min read

2018

Are Your Expectations Helping, or Hurting? Aug 6

Are your people living up to your expectations, or down to them? Bryan Yager on the Pygmalion Effect at work.

3 min read

Bryan has spent more than 45 years developing leaders, in Boise and across the country. If this is the thinking you want in the room, he works with organizations on Leadership Development Workshops, and the same thinking runs through his book, How to Transition Into Leadership.