1 Question to Ask Your Boss When Youre Confused - The Muse

1 Question to Ask Your Boss When Youre Confused - The Muse1 Question to Ask Your Boss When Youre ConfusedYour boss sat you down yesterday and outlined your next project. The problem? Youre completely confused about the direction youre supposed to take it in, making your head feel like its buzzing with cartoon birds (without the anvil having fallen on your head).Dont stress The key is to catch your confusion early on and address it- because the further along you go in completing the assignment without a clear path, the further away youre likely to end up from your boss original plan.Of course, you could just tell your boss youre s-lost or ask for more direction- thats completely fair. But if youre worried about coming across as incompetent or you dont have the kind of relationship with your manager in which you can be totally honest, ask this one questionWhat greater goal is this tied to?Why is this so effective? For one thing, it makes you look really, really good. By focusing on goa ls rather than the more tedious stuff (or exclaiming, Why am I doing this in the first place?), you show you care about contributing to the greater success of the team or the company. And, you prove youre someone who thinks long-term and big picture.For another thing, it forces your boss to ask themselves this question. Maybe youre confused because there isnt a clear goal attached to the project. By making them clarify, youre better able to understand the purpose, making it a whole lot easier to strategize.In addition, it holds your boss (and you) accountable. If at or toward completion your manager seems unsatisfied, you can come back to their answer and explain why you decided to go the direction you did. Then, you can have a discussion figuring out whether you hit that goal, or how you can better accomplish it going forward.Besides, goals are great. They help us move forward, and they make our work feel more fulfilling. And dont we all want to do work that has a purpose?