EXPECTATIONS // They Don’t Have to Be Great

In sport greatness is typically measured in wins, medals and trophies. But the reality is that only a tiny number of people ever reach that level. And yet, expectations are often built as if that outcome is the norm.

During the build-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, we announced the GB Taekwondo team. One of our standout athletes, a 17-year-old Aaron Cook, was asked a simple question at the press conference:

“What are your expectations for the Games?”

His answer was immediate: “Gold medal.”

The room chuckled. - Not because he lacked talent, but because the expectations in the room didn’t match his own. Sensing the reaction, he adjusted his reply to “Bronze.” Still ambitious for one of the youngest athletes to attend the Games. The room relaxed. But the moment he said ‘Gold’ revealed something far more important than the answer itself. Expectations are, more often than not, misaligned.

This misalignment is not unique to sport. In business, and particularly across complex projects, it is one of the most common and least discussed causes of underperformance. Teams rarely fail because they lack capability. More often, they struggle because people are working to different, unspoken definitions of success.

A developer may feel frustrated by a lack of progress towards key milestones but the consultant team on the same project may feel things are progressing well. A team might be working at full capacity but without a shared understanding of what “good” actually looks like at each stage. Individually, each perspective makes sense. Collectively, they create friction.

The issue tends to surface late. At key gateways, at moments of pressure, or at the end of a phase, expectations that were never properly aligned begin to collide. The result is familiar: redesigns, delays, rising costs, strained relationships, and a sense that the project has fallen short despite the best efforts of those involved.

One of the most refreshing examples of clear expectations came from the Trinidad & Tobago bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics. Their stated aim going into the competition was not to win a medal, or even to finish in the top half of the field. It was simply this:

Don’t finish last.

On the surface, it sounds defeatist. But in the context of representing a tropical nation with no snow, limited funding, and minimal infrastructure, it was a bold goal. When they finished 22nd out of 23 teams, they celebrated. Not because they had exceeded global expectations, but because they had met their own and their nations.

That clarity is what high-performing teams understand. Success is not defined by external perception, but by internally aligned expectations.

The projects that perform consistently well tend to have something in common. There is a quiet clarity around what success looks like not just at completion, but throughout the process. Roles are understood. Decisions are owned. Progress is measured against something tangible, not assumed.