[ls15]

> you seem checked out, you're often absent and we don't know why - we can't rely on you for any concrete work because you aren't accountable to anyone - the rest of us are working 10x as hard as you are - part of your job should be to teach people, but you don't

I am sure that there is a more positive way to approach this.

Maybe something along the lines of: "I think that there is some uncertainty regarding roles and responsibilities. Some details never have been discussed, so there is a bit of confusion. Can we clarify this?"

If he is only available 1/10 should not really matter. What really matters is that everyone gets the input that they need.

[headscientist]

This is a good point. You're right that it really does come down to getting from him the things that I think the team and I need in order to succeed. Sometimes, however, I worry that I'm not getting the point across if I dance around an issue or "soften" it up too much. I'm sure there's a middle ground though where I can get my point across while keeping the conversation practical, focused and constructive. I just need to give some more thought as to how to do that.