Starting strong 1

Understand expectations

To 'succeed' at work and be valued by your employer, you have to know what they expect and what 'good' actually looks like. Every workplace has expectations of your performance. These usually fall into two areas:

What you are expected to achieve
How you are expected to conduct yourself at work

Some expectations are clearly outlined in a job description or discussed with your manager, while others are shaped by the organisation's culture and the way people work together. Often expectations are not written anywhere and you won't be formally 'told' many things – you'll have to work it out.

Taking the time to understand these expectations from the outset can help you perform effectively, build confidence, and make a positive impression on colleagues, managers, and customers alike.

The mindset shift

What your situation might mean:

From grades to results:

In education, success is often measured by marks and exams. In work, success is mostly measured by results and impact, i.e. What did we sell? Was the customer happy? Did we hit our target?

From structured time to self-management:

In education, much of your schedule is planned for you. In work, you are often expected to manage your own time and priorities, i.e. What are the key things I need to do? What are the most important things to do first?

From "my needs" to "the organisation's needs":

Whilst your needs are important, the company you are working for will expect you to consider their needs too. Think about what is most important to the company and how you can contribute, i.e. What is best for the company? How can I help the company succeed?

From individual achievement to team success:

Throughout your education, your success was often measured as an individual. At work, success is often achieved through collaboration. Strong team members share information, support others and celebrate team achievements, i.e. How can I help my team? What support do other people need?

First, you need to get into the right mindset. Moving into work, whether coming from school, further education, or time away from employment, requires a different way of thinking.

Understanding practical expectations

Next, you need to practically understand exactly what is expected of you.

Very early on in your role speak to your line manager, whoever you report directly to, and your team to understand very clearly what is expected of you. You can ask a lot of clarifying questions and take notes to make sure you understand this. Questions like:

What are the most important things that I need to be delivering in this role?
Can you share some examples of great work that you want me to aim for?
Who are the most important people I need to know about?
If you were in my role, what would you do to succeed?
Is there anything I need to make sure I don't do?

Ask for help

If you are unsure about something, always ask someone for help. If you have any guidance, instructions, or training materials available to you, see if you can initially work it out for yourself, but don't be afraid to ask. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness, and employers would much rather answer a question than correcting an avoidable mistake, or having you stuck without making any progress.

Activity: Workplace scenario

Your manager has asked you to research the growth rate of the mobile-phone market in Nigeria. You have checked the guidance you were given, but you are still unsure what it means or how to complete the task. Which of these is the best way to ask for help?

A. “I don’t understand this task. Can you do it for me?”

B. “What does growth rate mean?”

C. “I’ve checked the research guidance, but I’m still unsure what you mean by the growth rate of the mobile-phone market. Could you please explain which time period I should compare and what information you would like me to find?”

D. “I’ll leave this for now and come back to it later.”

Reveal answer

Option C is correct.

If you needed to ask for help, write the exact words you would use to ask for help.

If I'm your manager and I'm giving you a task, the kind of questions you're going to ask me tells me exactly what kind of person you are. You're going to ask me, "How many times do you want to connect before the final piece, so that you can tell me whether I'm on the right track?". You're going to ask me, "Is there work that was done before that I can look at?" And you're going to ask me, "Is there anybody in the team that I should talk to before I start?" It's very plain, but the person who says, "Ok, thanks, bye" and walks out of the room - you're in trouble.

Mabedi Mufahothe, Senior Manager, MTN Group

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