Behavior #6: Establish expectations at the outset

Time

Jan 17

Your control over Time inevitably involves control over the expectations of others.

At the beginning of any relationship, work or otherwise, this control is up for grabs: what will happen, when it will happen, and how progress will be made.

Rather than recognize this moment of opportunity (and acting accordingly), we often allow expectations to be implicit, assumed on the basis of previous interactions, created by the content of initial communications, or dictated by the relative power of the parties involved.

Do not allow this to happen.

Your power over Time will come when you reject this paradigm, instead establishing expectations through conscious effort and careful consideration. Take the lead in defining how your cabal will make decisions, how you will communicate, and how you will elect or reject emergent opportunities.

Create actual rules governing these behaviors and document them in writing.

Attempt hegemony, molding the newly-created rules in service of your Agency, and be sure to embed your Time-based values in every bullet — setting boundaries and limiting interruptions, limiting recurring commitments, and preserving unstructured time. If necessary, negotiate, but be prepared to walk away entirely if expectations cannot be swayed to your needs.

This practice will put the locus of Time at your feet, creating a brilliant go/no-go filter for any initiative — it will either proceed cleanly and with mutual understanding, the edifice of Agency intact, or it will not proceed at all.