Build the team
User manual for me
Also called Manual of me, Personal user manual
Each person writes a short guide to working with them: how they like to communicate and get feedback, and what helps them do their best work.
- Time30 to 45 minutes
- People2 to 12 people
- Steps3
What it's for
New teams spend months learning by trial and error that one person hates surprise meetings and another thinks best in writing. A user manual short-cuts that: each person writes a few honest lines on when they work, how they like to communicate and get feedback, what they struggle with and what they love.
Write your own, read everyone else's, and update them when the team changes. They work best when the manager writes theirs first.
How to run it
Write yours15 min
Each person claims a frame and answers the questions in it, briefly and honestly.
Read them all10 min
Everyone reads every manual and adds a stamp to anything they didn't know.
Agree one change10 min
One thing the team will do differently now that it knows.
Tips
- Write it for the people you work with, not for a performance review.
- Include what people get wrong about you. It's usually the most useful line.
Where it comes from
Writing a user manual for colleagues was popularised by leaders such as Ivar Kroghrud, co-founder of QuestBack, who described his own in an interview with The New York Times. Manual of Me offers a free template for it.
Pairs well with
Personal maps
Each person draws a mind map of themselves (home, work, hobbies, values) so a team learns who it is working with.
Working agreements
A team agrees, in its own words, how it will communicate, meet, decide and handle problems, and writes it down.
Big Five working styles
Each person places themselves on five personality traits to share how they like to work, and the team agrees how to work across differences.