My boss assigns projects with unclear expectations and provides no guidance on how to achieve them.

I've asked for help, and, to avoid a long post, she expects me to figure it out. Perhaps you go through this too, but when I don't have a clear guide on completing big projects, it paralyzes me because I don't know where to start. On top of that, I have anxiety, so "it has to be perfect".

How do you approach projects when your boss plays the "guess what's in my head" game?

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Send an email similar to the one below:


“ Hi boss, as I understand it, it is my job to be successful by your standards when completing projects. In order to do that I need to know your standards. Without those details I’m setting myself up to be inefficient and ineffective. Do you think when assigning me projects we could make it a habit to discuss the standards and expected outcome to ensure success, starting with this current project? Let me know when we can have a 15 minute chat today or tomorrow to nail down a few main objectives for a successful outcome and clear direction.

Thank you so much in advance!”

Then find an outline for project planning that fits your needs and use it. Include key deadlines and draft deliverable due dates. Send it to her after the meeting.

Profit.

smart

Above advice is great. I would add that I’ve been there before and some managers still don’t give enough guidance. That’s on them, not you. My method is sending a summary of my understanding and moving forward with that approach until they correct me, so the ball is on their court to do something. This is not foolproof and it’s still frustrating since you’ll need to make changes, but it’s much easier to deal with when the pressure is obviously on them to provide guidance and they chose not to.

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I ask super specific questions - what day next week exactly do you expect to see a draft? What time tomorrow can you read this and give me feedback? Where to find the info (online, book, person), who you should collaborate with, constraints (is the budget X amount? Is the deadline before oct 1.?), etc. Finally, I ask to either see an example of something similar or for your boss to define what success looks like… if they can’t define success then how should you even know how to get there?

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