Recruits demand clarity because they've been oversold and underdelivered on too many times. The expectation gap—where promises exist without formal agreements—drives turnover. Fix it with a clear multi-year roadmap showing 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-year plans, with agreed responsibilities and milestones.
They want more information because they've been conditioned, oversold and underdelivered over and over again. If I have a physical document and I say, this is our 1-year map, our 3-year or 5-year or 7-year or 10-year map, we can gain agreement on some, some basic premise of how we're going to grow in your market. My responsibilities, company's responsibilities, and your responsibilities. Most people leave organizations because somewhere along the way there, we have this expectation gap. What's the expectation gap? You said you were going to do X, you didn't do X. But we never really fully gained agreement on it. Where you have expectations without agreements, I'm personally purposely creating a gap here. Expectations, no agreements. That expectation gap is toxic. Expectations without agreements are toxic. The thing I'll offer you is this, is that when you show up with this roadmap, they already know what kind of leader you are. That you're a leader that has strategy, you're a leader that's thoughtful, you're a leader that's going to come into this market and is going to win.
