Hi, you may have noticed the trend towards manager READMEs. After reading this Hackernoon article I decided I should take the plunge and do the same. That's because I have noticed:
- Over time I have become less available. That has resulted in me needing to help people understand me who don't spend large chunks of time with me.
- As part of my leadership journey I have started to note that I need to make sure it's clear how to make me do better for you.
I am a number of things:
- I am loud. For instance most people will tell you they know where I am by my laugh. Not everyone loves it. If you feel like it's too much let me know and I'll work to be respectful of your wishes.
- Speaking of that laugh, it's a blessing and a curse. But it is an indicator that I have a lot of fun at work, that fun is based upon the belief I am doing one of the best jobs in the world. I hope that you share that fun with me.
- I love a story. Not just the latest way I've made a fool of myself but also I look at our industry and try to distill the wisdom from our stories. My goodreads profile gives some hint as to the depth of my problem with stories :)
- I love explaining things. A whiteboard and some markers and I will explain anything I can to you.
- I'm a yes by default. If I say no it's generally with a grimace.
- I'd like to see a fairer world. I am open to ways to extend our work for others benefit.
You will also notice I have a strong accent and I use what others call Rob-isms. Which is to say that I often use phrases that are uncommon. It's not a problem if you need me to repeat something or rephrase it, I'm used to it :)
Here is an ordered default list of my priorities:
- I should be taking GreenSync to meet it's mission
- I should be making your team better
- I should be taking you higher
- I should be improving myself
In terms of that order some things trump that order. We'll discuss them when we hit them. But if everything's working then my belief is that if I work on item 4 it generally has positive impacts on items 3, 2 and 1. Similarly working on you (item 3) has a positive impact on items 4, 2 and 1. So while I'm motivated to drive the greatest good for the greatest number I think that starts with getting the best out of me and you.
The first thing you need to give me is feedback. There is no point in me going along thinking everything is fine if there's a problem. Also a big part of my job is understanding what is concerning you. You are my eyes and ears in this organisation. So tell me what you see, good and bad. Also tell me where I'm going wrong.
After that it's about doing the best job you can. So that means live the values, try hard and always improve. At some point things are going to go wrong so when that happens be honest. If you've made a mistake I'd rather know than not know. The only way anything gets fixed is with transparency.
If you're trying to get hold of me start with my calendar. I don't spend a lot of time at my desk but if I'm not in a meeting you've got a fair chance of finding me there. I love face to face communication and it's the highest bandwidth approach to getting me a message.
After that try the phone or slack. Do be aware that I turn on do not disturb after hours. I try respond in hours, but I can't always guarantee an immediate response.
I check email a couple of times a day but reserve replies for the end of the day or after hours. Try and reserve this for things you want me to mull over or information updates.
First if it's urgent don't wait for a 1:1 let's get it fixed now.
Secondly, to quote Scott Burn's README "These meetings are designed to give you a dedicated time and place to ask anything and everything. That means they're a safe space too, if there's things you need to talk about but can't in a group setting we can do that here. If you ever feel it's not safe you should raise that with Clare or Phil.
I certainly think it's great if you have an agenda but I know that's full on if you aren't explicitly preparing. So in general I use a simple format and if you want to innovate I'm good with that. My framework is simple:
- How are you going? Tell me about what's happening with you. This is a good opportunity to discuss professional development.
- How's your team going? This gives me a view into where you think your colleagues are and how your work in progressing. It's a great time to highlight people's achievements that I might have missed.
- How am I going? This is your opportunity to give me feedback. What am I doing wrong? What am I missing? What else could I be doing to support you and the team?
I generally have a few things swimming around in my brain at any one time so if you want to get a rough lay of the land start at the What's Rob Thinking About Wall.
Matters that address the contents of that wall are likely to be well received but also if something important is missing please do tell me.
As I don't like formal levelling exercises on an arbitrary cycle I hold a continuous view of your performance. This basically has three levels.
-
Good : I am loving being around you and your work. It's a great fit for me and I hope it's a good fit for you. Sure we can always talk about things that we can do to help each other but nothing's glaring. As a personal goal I try to have at least 99% of people reporting to or through me in that bucket.
-
OK : There's important matters for us to work on together. At this point your expectation of me is that I'm making the issues clear (and pointing out their impact) and offering support for remediation. I'm generally using our time together pointing to things I expect you to work on and making suggestions for different ways to approach your work. There's no judgement for moving in and out of this level but hopefully it's not a long term thing.
-
Requiring Support : At this point two things need to be said. First that this should never come as a surprise. You'll never go from Good to Requiring Support with no stop in between. Second, there's always a way back from here, no one is without hope. We might agree that's not something we want to do together and should see that as a reasonable option but I have no intention of letting you slide out of the organisation without a fight. At this point whatever we tried at OK hasn't worked and we are now in a more formal process.
If you're ever not sure ask me and I'll tell you where I think you are and why. By the same token you're welcome to hold me to the same standard and I will take that feedback.