Dr Froswa’ Booker-Drew answers your questions, putting her years of experience and practice into the goal of solving those knotty problems that beset us, and assuring us: ‘you’ve got this’. If you’d like Froswa’ to look at your particular problem, email it to managingeditor@thebusinesswomanmedia.com.
Question: What do you do if you don’t get any direction regarding priorities from the individual or supervisor making the request or setting the expectations? Kelsey T.
Kelsey:
There are a number of ways to view this situation:
- Either your boss has the utmost confidence in your ability to make things happen
- Your boss is so overwhelmed and too busy to tell you what to do
- Your boss doesn’t understand what you do and can’t offer any guidance but just wants results
Scenario 1 is great but you have no idea if what you are doing is meeting their desired objectives. Scenario 2 and 3 are not in your favor because there is no leadership available to help you. It means that you will have to take the lead in the situation. Is there a strategic plan for the organization or your department that you can review to ensure your goals align with the vision of the company? Are their others that have been in the position previously that you can review their work or plans to have a better idea of what has occurred? Do you and your boss have one on one meetings often to discuss your progress? If not, this might be a start.
I think it is important to arrange a meeting with your boss to review your accomplishments and your upcoming goals to determine focus and expectations. Place your goals into three categories—wins, worries and woes. Wins are the tasks that you have confidence in accomplishing. They don’t require a lot of effort on your part to coordinate and implement. Worries are those projects that you have concerns with or need more information to execute. Woes are projects that you have started (or even completed) that have caused headaches or will require enormous assistance to make a reality. With this format, you can get your boss to offer insight and help prioritize what’s important. Hopefully, this will help you so you can move forward and feel confident about your decisions with your boss’s support. It might also illuminate your boss’s limitations as a leader (which you might already be fully aware of) so be prepared for that possibility as well. Continue doing the great work you are doing in your area, Kelsey. I’ve been watching you from afar and I’m glad you reached out. I’m honored to help in some small way! You. Got. This.
