The Standards We Choose

You've heard it in boardrooms, delivered with that knowing half-smile: "The secret is to set low expectations. That way, you'll never disappoint anyone."

It sounds like wisdom. Like protecting yourself. Like being strategic.

But there's something we're missing.

Consider Icarus — not the part about flying too high that everyone remembers, but his father's equally vital warning about flying too low. The sea's moisture would weaken the wings just as surely as the sun would melt them.

Here's what we're not seeing: When leaders consistently set low expectations, they don't just manage perceptions. They shape reality.

Teams don't just meet the bar — they internalize it. Innovation doesn't just slow — it withers. The organizational wings become waterlogged with mediocrity, not because people can't soar higher, but because they've been taught not to try.

The real art isn't in lowering expectations or even exceeding them. It's in finding that middle altitude where capability meets challenge, where teams are stretched but not broken, where growth becomes not just possible but inevitable.

I wonder what might happen if instead of asking "How do we avoid disappointment?" we asked "What height allows us to truly fly?"

Because perhaps the most dangerous expectation isn't the one that's too high, but the one that teaches us to fear our own wings.