What are expectations? It's knowing what someone can count on you for, and what you can count on from them in return. What you'll do. How you'll do it. What the end result is supposed to look like when it's done. Saying “everyone needs to know what's expected of them” sounds so obvious it barely feels worth saying out loud. Of course that makes sense. Who would argue with it? And yet, in more than twenty years of public sector leadership, this is the piece I watch teams str

For years, every time I asked a question, I got the same reaction. People got defensive. Their shoulders would tense up. Their answers got short. And for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why. Now I understand it completely. And once I did, it changed everything about how I show up at work, and honestly, at home too.

I've been at the Road Commission for 21 years. That's a long time. Not the longest tenure in the room, but long enough that my brain is basically a filing cabinet of random history, processes, institutional knowledge, and details that most people don't even know to ask about. I remember looking at the long-timers when I first started and thinking...how do they know all of that? Will I ever get there? Well, I sure don't know everything. But I've gotten there in a lot of ways.

So that’s what this post is. The actual how. What job shadowing looks like when it works, how to cross-train without overwhelming your team, and how to stop wasting your vacation coverage opportunities. Let’s get into it. And yes, I know all of this. I’ve written it right here. That does not mean I do it perfectly or consistently. I am a work in progress too, and that is completely okay. I share this stuff because I believe in it, not because I have it all figured out.