(FORTUNE Magazine) – Dear Annie: Several colleagues and I are having a weird problem with our boss, who is new here. Every time she asks us to do something, and we do it, she tells us it's all wrong. We've tried asking her for more detailed descriptions of exactly what she wants, but we still keep coming up short. Is she crazy, or are we? --F Troop

Dear F Troop: Probably neither. Many bosses think they're much better at communicating than they actually are, says Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., an executive coach in Oakland. Moreover, being new to the organization, your boss is apparently making assumptions about which you are clueless, and it must be frustrating for her too. Scott, whose book A Survival Guide for Working With Humans: Dealing With Whiners, Back-Stabbers, Know-It-Alls, and Other Difficult People (Amacom, $15) tackles such problems, recommends approaching this one on a project-by-project basis. Request a written memo about each task before you do it. Then reply in an e-mail that breaks down a broad description of the assignment into its component parts, noting exactly what steps you plan to take. "Seek feedback as you go along, even if the boss says it isn't necessary," says Scott. Tedious and time-consuming as the process might be, it should help get everyone on the same wavelength. At the very least, Scott notes, it will create a paper trail that might be useful later on "if you get called on the carpet and have to defend yourself to others." Gulp.

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