At High Output, we believe that culture is centered around identifying what compels employees to do great work daily. If you’ve ever had a personal / professional coach, the practice of creating a User Manual may not be altogether foreign to you. That said, we think that part of driving / being part of a high-performing team includes regularly self-reflecting and jotting down some of those musings on paper so we know how to best work with each other. More specifically, the intent behind this exercise is for:

• Employees learn more about each other. The original idea of a personal user manual is to help others learn more about you. Great communication starts with understanding your audience. Personal user manuals are basically the audience giving you the roadmap to working with them.
• Employees learn more about themselves. Writing a personal user manual for others implies a tremendous amount of self-awareness. You can’t tell others the best way to work with you…if you haven’t figured it out for yourself. Today’s business world requires employees to self-manage. This activity could be a good first step.

Good luck completing the form and enjoy the process. Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments or suggestions.

The first set of questions are focused on me:

• What are some honest, unfiltered things about you?
• What drives you nuts?
• What are your quirks?
• How can people earn an extra gold star with you?
• What qualities do you particularly value in people who work with you?
• What are some things that people might misunderstand about you that you should clarify?

The next set of questions are more focused on how I interact with others:

• How do you coach people to do their best work and develop their talents?
• What’s the best way to communicate with you?
• What’s the best way to convince you to do something?
• How do you like to give feedback?
• How do you like to get feedback?