Ask HN: Is it normal to have no explicit expectations?
My direct manager is one of the original cofounders. I will often receive delegated projects verbally/over email and given a timeframe. Example: "can your team get me an X report on X in 3 days?". If I ask for specifications (e.g how far back do you want the report to capture, will you need X subcontractors included in the report, etc) I'm hit with hostility or told to "figure it out, that's your job".
Is it normal to have no clearly defined expectations when you're given a project/task?
I've been doing this for about 12 months now and it seems like I'm constantly flying in the dark. 50% of my vague projects are met with excitement and shock and the other 50% is screamed at as a waste of time/wrong.
I try to lay out my expectations clearly when delegating the sub-tasks from these projects (e.g can you generate an export of X data over the past 12 months for X report?"). Is this something that's not required the higher you go in management?