Create Your Own Leadership User Manual

I first heard of this “user manual” idea when I read Adam Bryant’s 2014 article in the New York Times called, “Want to Know Me? Just Read My User Manual” in which CEO Ivar Kroghrud described how he created a one-page “user manual” so his team would know how to best work with him. Adam Bryant later expanded on this idea in his article, “What If You Had to Write a ‘User Manual’ About Your Leadership Style?”

The basic idea is that managers should create a short guide to their personality, work style and, yes, even quirks, so that their direct reports would know how to best work with them. I also suspected that this kind of “user’s manual” would serve as a good reminder to myself about my unique traits. (“What’s my MBTI? Oh, I’m an I,N…uh, T…hmmm.”)

Recently I hired a new head of customer success and decided I need to stop thinking about it, and actually take the time to do it. How could I quickly get him comfortable with me? At LEADx we’re a remote-first culture so the normal kind of lunches and office cooler talk are not ways in which new hires can learn the idiosyncrasies of the boss.