Some weeks ago I received a request for help from a young Marketer struggling with a project. She wanted a review, suggestions and comments regarding any obvious tune-ups required.

When her draft arrived I found it hard to begin without essential background information: Who’s the audience, Objectives, Deadlines etc., etc.

The more I asked the fuzzier specifics became. She wasn’t struggling with any particular assignment detail, but rather the very purpose of the assignment itself.

Now if any project is poorly specified at the outset, what sort of result can you expect?

My first thoughts were that I was trying to help this Marketer who in turn was being directed by a pretty junior manager. This was likely someone sorting out how to set up a project in his/her earlier months of OJT. But not so, he was apparently a moderately seasoned and highly regarded VP in a well-funded startup.

Inevitably, my next thought was just how unusual is this type of basic problem? Is it common for even senior leaders and managers to assign tasks and ad hoc projects with such inherent ambiguities?

Supposedly everyone knows how to set up Goals: They should be Unambiguous, Measurable with clear expectations of outcomes and Timelines. But might the assignment of more ad hoc Tasks and Projects be treated quite differently?

I made a few calls and inquiries which all confirmed my worst suspicions. Hardly scientific, but this checked real world experiences of Junior, Mid-level Managers and even a few CEOs working with their Boards.

It almost seemed that the more senior the Assigner, the more victimized was the Assignee. Though there does appear to be a likely inevitability of increasing expectations through the hierarchy.

In these times nobody wants to micromanage individuals and we typically expect managers to respect people’s ability and desire to contribute. However, if you don’t give reasonably clear direction to an assignment, how can you expect a predictable, satisfactory outcome?

And, in many poorly directed situations the assignee can likely become seriously frustrated, will feel their time is being wasted and often expends energy in pointless pursuits.

Some of my contacts said they invariably went back and clarified details in such situations. Several of these complained of being treated like fools, but others philosophically claimed to at least then avoid too much of their time being wasted as a result.

Even if carefully approached, some Assigners react defensively when confronted with their blatant omissions while being asked for clarification. So if you’re ever faced with a similar situation, just check back early and tread carefully.

When you’re personally doling out even the simplest project, provide adequate guidance. At least present the assignee with the basic outline of requirements:

• What
• When
• Where
• Why, and
• Extent

If a project description features these basic tenets the recipient will normally fare quite well. Even ask them if there’s anything you omitted and offer your contact information for any further questions. After all, unless you have established, excellent rapport most people won’t prove to be mind-readers.

Also, this is the basic information and approach required to solve any problem.

It doesn’t matter if the assignee is a CEO being asked to check into alternative market opportunities or a line worker being given the simplest task. Polite, professional and adequate descriptions are essential.

As for my young Marketer friend, she went back and asked questions to better understand more details of the project assigned by that VP. This culminated in her approach to the resulting report taking quite a different direction. It turns out little further help was required from me as all insecurities and questions dissolved when she developed a more complete understanding of the boss’ request.

It seems even senior leaders can unwittingly make ambiguous requests.

Sometimes directing professionals with poorly specified assignments can be productive in unearthing surprise and diverse insights. But this can usually be achieved without doling out unnecessarily open-ended projects. And, you should invariably tell people (often as a motivator) when this is intended.

How are you doing when assigning tasks? Ever get surprise results unfortunately outside of the intended scope?

Even now, the more I ask around about this class of problems, the more it seems to be the operating norm for many businesses.

Yet good practices in making requests or assignments (by following the above guidelines) can also help us in almost every aspect of our personal lives. For instance, just think how obviously essential this skill becomes in simply communicating with children and young adults.

Make a quick review of some of the projects you recently handed to others. Are results appropriately turning out much as planned? If not, maybe it’s time to make a determined upgrade to your minor and major assignment practices.

If you have related experiences you wish to share, please offer Comments, below.

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh