This is it, plain and simple: As a supervisor, manager, or business owner, your job is to direct the work of others, not to do their work for them. In order to achieve that in a timely and efficient manner, it’s your job to communicate your expectations in ways they understand.

If your employees are unclear about the assignment or the manner in which you want it done, they’ll do one of three things: figure it out and do it right; figure it out and do it wrong; wait until you figure out that they didn’t figure it out.

Then you’ll do one of three things: Give another assignment to the one who did it right; tell the one who did it wrong to do it again; tell the one who didn’t do anything to get it done.

The one who got it right the first time will get it right the second time. The one who did it wrong will get a second chance to do it wrong. The one who didn’t do anything won’t do anything.

Then you’ll do one of three things: You’ll give three more jobs to the one who did it right. You’ll yell at the one who’s done it wrong twice. You’ll ask the one who didn’t do anything to run a few errands and get you some coffee.

Before you know it, six months will have passed. The one who gets it right is doing the work of both the one who does it wrong and the one who doesn’t do anything but run a few errands and get you coffee.

By the end of the year, the one who gets it right has joined the competition. They’ve given him a big  promotion and a salary increase. The one who gets it wrong has posted for a transfer and accused you of verbal harassment.  The one who doesn’t do anything but run errands has opened a messenger service and has signed a lucrative contract with your company.

If you tell employees more than they need or want to know, they feel micro managed. If you tell them less, they think you’ve set them up to fail.  Your challenge is in knowing who needs how much of what.

How do you manage that?

Ask. Don’t tell. Ask people what they need before telling them what you think they ought to know. Individuals intake and process information differently. For example:

You’re a big picture person. You describe your expectations in vague yet optimistic language.

“There’s nothing to getting this job done. Just take a whack at it. Piece of cake!”

If the person you’re addressing is, like you, a big picture optimist, he’s off and running, confident in his ability to get the job done. What can go wrong? what you get isn’t what you envisioned it would be, and you say so. The employee is frustrated that you’ve not been more clear.

Same story. You’ve described an assignment in vague and minimal terms. The person you’re talking to needs details, a starting point, steps along the way. You brush the request aside as unimportant. What will you get in return? Little to nothing. Not knowing where to start, nothing gets done. The employee is discouraged about her ability to be successful in the job.

Change scenario.

You are a manager who is very clear about your expectations and precise about how you want the job done. You spell out each step in detail, leaving no room for guesswork. You’ve had problems in the past so you point out the pitfalls of the assignment. What can happen? Mixed bag. If the employee is hungry for what you’ve provided, you’ll get what you wanted. If the employee is creative, she’ll feel stifled by your restrictions. She’ll either do it her way, which won’t be your way, or she’ll get involved in another project that gives her what she wants.

There’s no way you’ll know what’s best for employees unless you ask them. If what they need is different from what you like to deliver, find a place that satisfies everyone. That will only come when you are willing to include their thinking in your resolution.

Bottom line, you want employees who will get the job done and stay around long enough to contribute to the company in significant ways. If they do it right, you’re doing it right, and if all of you like what you do, and your boss does too, you’ll all get to stay around.

And that’s it, plain and simple.

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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.joycerichman.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started her own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com