How can you possibly succeed without clear expectations? No matter what you are doing for any boss, you need to work with that boss at the outset of any assignment to spell out clear expectations, and you need to revisit, revise and adjust expectations every step of the way.

On every assignment with every single boss, you need to make sure you know exactly what you are expected to do and exactly how you are expected to do it.

I am so often surprised when people tell me, "I don't want to have a boss standing over my shoulder telling me what to do and how to do it all the time. They should just let me do my job." But then in the next breath, these same people complain that their boss doesn't make expectations clear.

You don't want a boss standing over your shoulder, but on the other hand, who do you blame when you discover after days or weeks or months that you have been doing something wrong without even realizing it? Who do you blame when you realize you've been missing some key details in an assignment? Who do you blame when you figure out that you've been inadvertently leaving out a step in an important work process? Who do you blame when you find out you've been making the same mistake over and over again because you thought it was 'supposed to be that way'? Who do you blame?

Have you ever been the one to say, "Well, my boss didn't make it clear"?

When expectations are not spelled out clearly, things go wrong. You can take that to the bank.

Very few people want a boss standing over their shoulder telling them what to do and how to do it all the time. Right? Well, don't worry. Most managers don't have the time or inclination to do that. You might be amazed at the number of managers who have told me, "I shouldn't have to tell my employees what to do and how to do it. They should know how to do their jobs already." But then, in the next breath, these same managers complain that lots of employees fail to meet expectations and that most of their employees fail to meet expectations at least some of the time. So I ask these managers, "How are your employees supposed to meet - much less exceed - expectations if nobody tells them in clear, simple terms exactly what they're supposed to do and how they're supposed to do it?"

Of course, there are plenty of managers who don't hesitate to bark out step by step marching orders. As long as you can tolerate the bark and you can take notes quickly with a smile on your face, then there is a big upside to these managers: At least you know exactly what's expected of you.