The real reason your team is frustrated by feedback (and how to fix it)

"When expectations are unclear, trust in leadership and collaboration begins to drop. When this happens, the frustration that follows is real. But the deeper cost is often invisible-trust begins to erode. This dynamic is increasingly common. Roles evolve, priorities shift, and teams are asked to move faster with less certainty."

"People continue to work in good faith, investing energy and time into what they believe is needed. They solve problems based on experience and what has worked before. When they're later told the outcome fell short, the issue is more than disappointment. It's disorientation. People begin to question their judgment and whether they can reliably meet expectations going forward."

"A leader asks a team member to 'move this forward quickly.' The work gets done on time, but when it's delivered, the leader is disappointed. What they needed wasn't just speed, but alignment with a broader strategy-or more collaboration with another team before finalizing decisions. The expectation wasn't ignored; it was incomplete."

Workplace frustration typically stems from unmet expectations rather than insufficient effort or commitment. Thirty years of organizational research reveals that unclear expectations directly damage trust in leadership and collaboration. As roles evolve and priorities shift, people work in good faith based on their understanding, but when outcomes fall short due to incomplete expectations, disorientation follows. This teaches people to hesitate, over-check, or disengage. The invisible cost is eroded trust and weakened collaboration. A common scenario involves leaders requesting speed without clarifying broader strategy or cross-team collaboration needs. Breaking this cycle requires explicitly setting expectations about success definitions and constraints.

Read at Fast Company