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Ask HN: Is it normal to have no explicit expectations?

1 points by el_dev_hell ↗ HN
I work in a non-technical supervisory role at a 30~ person software startup. My past work experience is all from Fortune 100 companies.

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?

3 comments

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ThrowawayR2
In large corporations, people have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Junior level people are given clearly defined tasks and are expected to carry them out and as they grow more senior, they are expected to mature enough to take on more and more nebulous goals and work out what tasks are necessary to accomplish that goal by themselves.

In a start-up, it's more the case that everybody is expected to do whatever they have to in order to keep the ship from sinking. There is less structure and supervision and employees are given the latitude and responsibility of what would be a rather senior role in a large corporation right from the beginning. That's the culture shock you're experiencing right now and only you can decide whether that's a role that will allow you to flex more of your talents or whether it's too ill-defined a role for you to be successful in.

rogerkirkness
This is a good answer. Certainly the difference between F100 and a startup that's pre product market fit must be pretty intense. On one hand you have very explicit role definitions and often near unlimited resources. On the other you have near unlimited autonomy but severely constrained resources.
el_dev_hell
Thanks for the reply.

It's helpful to hear that this is a reality.