How to Reset Expectations After You’ve Been Too Easy During Change

Sandy shoreline framed by rocky cliffs, opening toward calm ocean water. Photograph by Charissa Simmons

During periods of significant change, many leaders loosen expectations.

Not because they lack standards, but because they’re trying to be human.

They see the strain.
They know the systems aren’t settled.
They understand that clarity is still forming.

So they give grace.
They absorb time.
They let things slide that they wouldn’t normally.

That choice is often necessary. And often right.

But there comes a moment when staying in that posture quietly creates a new problem.

When Grace Becomes Drift

When expectations remain low for too long, people don’t experience it as kindness.

They experience it as ambiguity.

Teams start asking questions they don’t always say out loud.

• What actually matters right now?

• What’s still required of me?

• Is anyone paying attention?

Performance becomes inconsistent.
Accountability feels optional.
And the leader starts carrying more than they should.

Not because people are unwilling, but because the bar was never clearly reset.

Resetting Expectations Is Not Backtracking

This is the part many leaders struggle with.

They worry that raising expectations again will feel unfair.
Or abrupt.
Or like moving the goalposts.

But resetting expectations is not an admission of failure.
It’s a signal that the environment has changed, and leadership has adjusted with it.
This mistake isn’t being flexible during disruption.
The mistake is not clearly naming when flexibility has served its purpose.

Start With Ownership, Not Enforcement

The reset doesn’t begin with policies or performance plans.

It begins with leadership ownership.

That sounds like:

• “I loosened expectations during this period, and that was intentional.”

• “That phase has passed, and we need to be clear about what’s required now.”

• “Here’s what matters again, and why.”

This isn’t about blame.
It’s about context.

People don’t resist standards when they understand the reason for them.

Be Specific - Vague Resets Don’t Work

General statements like “we need to do better” or “we’re raising the bar” don’t actually reset anything.

Clarity does.

A real reset answers:

• What is expected now that wasn’t before?

• What will no longer be acceptable?

• What support is still in place, and what is not?

Specificity creates relief.
Even when expectations increase.

Expect Discomfort - Not Pushback

Some discomfort is normal.

You’re changing the operating rules again.
People are recalibrating.

That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.
It means the reset is real.

Stay steady.
Don’t over-explain.
Don’t apologize for clarity.

Calm consistency does more than force ever will.

The Leader’s Job Isn’t to Stay Easy

It’s to stay clear.

Periods of change require flexibility.
Periods of stability require standards.
Strong leadership knows when to move between the two and names the transition.

Resetting expectations is not about becoming rigid.
It’s about returning to alignment.

And when done well, it doesn’t erode trust.

It restores it.

Resetting expectations isn’t harsh.
Staying unclear is.
Kind leadership isn’t permissive; it’s clear.
And clarity is a form of respect, especially after change.

If this resonated, you may want to read this next → Borrowed Authority Is Not Leadership