Special Topic: What's Your Expectation Reputation? ?   

Courtney Elizabeth Anderson, JD, MBA

Expectation Reputation Overview

What if every aspect of your workplace including your salary, promotions, career opportunities, and benefits, were impacted by a powerful phenomena that you did not even know existed? Wouldn't you want to find out what is preventing you from accomplishing your goals? Have you ever been in a work situation where an individual that is a poor performer in terms of measurable work deliverables is lavished with praise and opportunities that seem to have no connection to their work efforts (while your work that far exceeds this team member goes unrecognized)?

In my course of study in my PhD in Industrial-Organizational degree program, I have researched and defined this phenomena.  Based on the 500+ speaking engagements I have delivered while working within hundreds of organization, I have been able to observe trends, challenges and craft creative solutions for modern workplace challenges.   This article explores the role that behavioral expectations based on prior observed patterns play in the modern workplace. When we interact with people over time we begin to anticipate what they will behave like in future situations based almost entirely on their past patterns of behavior. I call this their "expectation reputation"?. I will explore the ethical issues and legal problems when we begin to rely on these expectations and not solely on observed evidence. "Socrates said, 'The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be' - to be, in reality, what we want others to think we are." (Covey, pg. 51).

Ethical Consequences

     This article pertains to the difficulty of the modern professional to maintain awareness of, and not be swayed inappropriately by, a client's, subordinates, or bosses, expectation reputation. The phenomenon whereby, after repeated interaction, the professional begins the process of anticipating future client (or co-worker) behavior based on past observed action, is that which I have coined the expectation reputation. I am arguing that the most ethical behavior for the professional is to wait and observe behavioral actions of another individual prior to making any decisions, or changes in the decision-making process.  For example, a professional should not, upon hearing that client Corporation X has submitted a request for services, automatically assume that the process will be fraught with poor communication, lack of organization, poorly defined goals, and frustrating processes whereby neither the client nor the professional ends the relationship satisfied with what has transpired.  Yet, if the professional had prior experience with client Corporation X where all of the aforementioned issues occurred, and were observed, the professional could easily fall into the trap of the expectation reputation and approach the client requests for services in a negative and skeptical manner. I believe this would be unethical, as it would be depriving the client of the opportunity to receive the best possible professional services from a neutral, nonjudgmental, professional service provider. If the professional is biased, skeptical, and emotionally in a negative frame of reference prior to the services being rendered, this will lower the quality of professional services obtained by the client.

Another ethical issue as pertains to the professional is to ensure that they are not inadvertently being swayed by internal corporate expectation reputation biases already present in an organization.  For example, if a professional is conferring with a manager about preparing for an upcoming group training and frustrations, disappointment, and stress related to the employee Joe Smith are expressed; the professional must be on high alert to ensure that they do not let this individual managers negative expectation reputation regarding Joe Smith impact their preparation, delivery and review of the upcoming group training course.  This is important because although a large percentage of the expectation reputation is based on prior observed behavioral actions of an individual or organizational client, other factors impact the expectation reputation such as cultural, personality, and social issues. 

For example, a manager who already is predisposed toward disliking someone of Asian descent might over amplify an employee's mistake and portray that as indicative of the person simply because that individual is Asian.   Whereas, if another employee made the exact same mistake who was not Asian, the manager might simply chalk up the experiments as an anomaly and continue to have a positive expectation reputation of that individual staff member. Although stereotypes, discrimination, personality conflicts, socialization, and cultural issues do have an impact on a person's expectation reputation, they are only parts of this phenomenon.  Over an extended period of time, observing a person's behavior will impact dramatically their expectation reputation and can contradict or overpower pre-existing prejudices, stereotypes, and predilections. That is because the reputation part of this phenomenon is based on actual observed behavior and the perception within the community of the individual.

The professional must be made aware of the existence of this expectation reputation phenomenon and remain on heightened alert to ensure that they are not basing their own individual decisions, or the advice that they are providing a client, inadvertently or mistakenly on this phenomena.  The professional must remain vigilant that their own decisions and professional advice is based on observable actions and not just on the reputation and anticipated actions of the individuals involved. If a professional is made aware that one of their corporate client's expectation reputation is negatively impacting the professional, the work should be declined.  It would be an unethical action to enter into a work relationship with a client that the professional already had perceived in a negative light and feeling cynical towards. 

Legal Consequences

The legal standard is defined as the minimally acceptable behavior that the government can compel an individual or organization to engage in.  The professional should remain mindful that their corporate organizations could be violating federal, state, and local laws by basing employment related decisions on an individual's expectation reputation and not on their documented workplace behavior. 

One of the most serious examples of this that I have encountered was a few years ago while serving as a corporate trainer in the United States. I was informed that one of the most beloved employees had recently brought a machete to work and attacked a coworker.  The managers had retained this employee because he was a "great guy" and "everybody liked him" (thus he had a very positive expectation reputation). Although there was no doubt that this gentleman had brought a weapon to work and attacked a coworker, the managers said that he apologized and they told him not to do that anymore. I was informed by the management that this employee had been going through a tough divorce and that's the only reason that he "lost his temper and acted inappropriately" at work.  This type of behavior by a client organization could expose them to substantial legal liability for negligent retention of this violent staff member.

I have seen numerous variations of this behavior where in many instances a manager will share with me that they don't personally like or care for an individual but that they are so impressed with their past performance that they will tolerate almost any current transgressions by the staff member.  This behavior supersedes all demographic categorizations (i.e. - educational levels, professional areas of expertise, age, ethnicity and geographic regions).  I began researching and training on this topic of expectation reputation because it is an extremely important theory yet is an often ignored area of modern business functions and organizations. 

Conclusion

I am extremely intrigued by the concept of the expectation reputation phenomena.  With the hundreds of corporate training sessions I have facilitated around the world I believe that most individuals are woefully unaware that their past behavior is used by others so strongly to impact their current professional opportunities.  Promotions, salary increases, even additional benefits such as leave and flexible scheduling are impacted dramatically by the individual's expectation reputation, fairly or unfairly.  Thus, my research in this area is to assist individuals with awareness of their expectation reputation and then provide them with tools so they may maximize this phenomenon to their benefit.  I believe that individuals who are not aware of this phenomenon suffer professional detriments. 

The expectation reputation is the one part of the common business process known as office politics that the individual themselves can control, mold, change, and utilize to maximize their opportunities.  Our job as professionals is to work individually to ensure that we have an accurate analysis and self-assessment of our own expectation reputation. In closing, "... belief in the importance of external approval is highly unrealistic.  Ultimately you, and only you, can make yourself consistently happy.  No one else can" (Burns, pg. 296). Understanding and controlling how others will judge or prejudge our actions is an important step towards exercising some level of control that can result in self-awareness and ultimately contentment.

References

Burns, David. (1992). Feeling Good The New Mood Therapy . New York: Avon Books

Corey, Gerald & Corey, Marianne & Callanan, Patrick. (2003). Issues & Ethics in the      Helping Professions (6th ed.). Pacific Grove, Ca.:  Brooks/ Cole

Covey, Stephen R. (1992). Principle-Centered Leadership. New York, New York: Fireside