What’s happening
You’re working hard, but you’re not confident you’re working on the right things. Your boss says everything is urgent, or changes priorities without explanation, or gives vague feedback like “make it better” without defining what better means.
This isn’t about your ability to figure things out. This is your boss not doing their job.
Why this happens
Usually it’s one of three things:
- They don’t know either: Your boss is getting unclear direction from above and passing that ambiguity down to you
- They’re avoiding decisions: Making things clear requires commitment, and they’re not ready to commit
- They think you should “just know”: They assume context that you don’t have
None of these are your fault. But all of them are your problem to solve if you want to do good work.
How to think about it
You need clarity to do your job well. That’s not negotiable. But you probably won’t get it unless you ask for it directly and repeatedly.
The goal isn’t to make your boss feel bad. The goal is to extract enough information that you can make good decisions even when they’re being unclear.
What to do
Ask direct questions:
- “Of these three things, which one should I complete first?”
- “What does success look like for this project? How will we know if it worked?”
- “I’m hearing [X] and [Y] are both urgent. If I can only do one this week, which one?”
Document what you hear: When your boss gives you direction (even vague direction), send a follow-up email: “Just confirming: my understanding is that [X] is the top priority this week, and success looks like [Y]. Let me know if I’ve got that wrong.”
This serves two purposes:
- Forces them to clarify if you’ve misunderstood
- Creates a paper trail if priorities shift again
Make decisions and communicate them: If your boss won’t clarify, you still need to move forward. Make your best judgment about priorities and tell them what you’re doing:
“Since we haven’t been able to connect on priorities, I’m focusing on [X] this week because [reasoning]. If that’s not right, let me know and I’ll adjust.”
This puts the responsibility back on them. If they disagree, they need to tell you. If they don’t respond, you’ve documented your reasoning.
What not to do
Don’t:
- Guess and hope you’re right
- Work on everything at once
- Blame yourself for not reading their mind
- Accept “everything is a priority” as an answer
Your boss’s lack of clarity is costing you. Make that visible by asking clearly and repeatedly. You’re not being difficult—you’re trying to do good work.