Short answer
A level expectation states the work someone at a specific role track and level is expected to handle. Write it in the present tense, identify scope, autonomy, and complexity, and make every adjacent level distinguishable through evidence. Add short behaviors and examples so managers can apply the standard consistently.
What belongs in a level expectation?
Describe the normal bar for the level, not an ideal employee. State what work the person handles, how independently they handle it, and whose outcomes their work affects.
Keep the expectation to one focused paragraph. A manager should be able to gather evidence for it during a normal review period.
- Scope: own tasks, a project, a team, several teams, or the organization.
- Autonomy: works with guidance, owns work independently, or sets direction.
- Complexity: handles defined, ambiguous, or unframed problems.
How do you separate adjacent levels?
Change the work instead of adding vague intensifiers. Higher levels usually expand scope, reduce required guidance, increase ambiguity, or establish practices that others use.
Read each pair side by side. If the same evidence could satisfy both levels, rewrite one or remove a level that the company cannot distinguish.
Show a change in scope
IC2 solves level 2 problems. IC3 solves level 3 problems.
IC2 solves defined problems with occasional guidance. IC3 frames ambiguous problems and owns a solution through delivery.
Add behaviors and examples
List 3 to 6 expected behaviors that start with verbs. Each should point to an action or outcome visible in ordinary work.
Add 2 to 5 neutral examples that show the expectation in context. Examples clarify the standard, but they should not become a checklist that excludes other valid evidence.
Check the wording for bias
Remove requirements based on personality, confidence, hours, office presence, accent, or communication style. Assess whether the work helped others act, reduced risk, or produced the expected outcome.
Ask two managers to rate the same anonymized evidence. Their disagreement can reveal a vague verb, an undefined scope, or an example that favors visibility over impact.