Metadata
- Author: Stay SaaSy
- Full Title:: Your Small Imprecise Ask Is a Big Waste of Their Time
- Category:: 🗞️Articles
- Document Tags:: Engineering Management,
- URL:: https://staysaasy.com/startups/2023/11/10/imprecise-asks.html
- Finished date:: 2023-11-13
Highlights
Imprecise asks from managers and leaders cause a disproportionate amount of turmoil and wheel-spinning (View Highlight)
Clarify the expected time investment: (View Highlight)
Please come back with whatever you have after 20 minutes (View Highlight)
On the flip side, if you get an ask from a leader: • Ask for how much time they think is appropriate. “Are you expecting something super thorough, like multiple hours of effort, or a quick write up?” • Don’t assume everyone else knows what’s going on. You’re not going to look dumb if you ask a question; you’ll definitely look dumb if you do the totally wrong thing because you didn’t ask a question. • Do not, DO NOT, assume they are too busy to answer clarifying questions as you work on the ask. Dollars are flushed down the drain every day because people incorrectly assume leaders don’t have time to clarify their asks. Rooms full of people analyze emails and instant messages from the leader like ancient artifacts. Ask the leader for clarification - if they have time to ask you to do something, they have time to clarify that ask. (View Highlight)