An increasing number of tech managers around the world are using personal user manuals (or manager READMEs).
Why? These documents are aimed at communicating the manager’s values, personality, style of leadership, and expectations to their direct reports. Thus, they intend to improve communication and productivity in the organization.
This article delves into the recent trend of personal user manuals (manager READMEs). We will look at their potential benefits and drawbacks in the context of managing remote teams.
Whether you’re a founder, a CEO, a manager, or a person on a remote team, you’ll be able to make the decision about whether a manager README is right for you.
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What is a Manager README (Personal User Manual)?
A manager README/personal user manual acts as a detailed guide that provides information about the manager, rather than the company. The name comes from README files 📁 that you often find in a software folder. The file shows you exactly how to use the respective software.
A manager README has a very similar purpose. It indicates the best ways to communicate with the manager and the principles that they stand for. It can be as professional or as personable as the manager chooses.
The document helps employees to familiarize themselves with the organization and more senior personnel before ever interacting with them. Nevertheless, an exhaustive set of rules should not be the basis of your personal user manual. Instead, we recommend that you treat it as a useful mechanism that can improve the efficiency of working relationships.
Team-building groundwork and communication still need to be done the traditional way!
Read More: How to Implement a Welcoming Software Developer Onboarding Process
How Do You Write a Personal User Manual?
In a nutshell, your personal user manual — or manager README — should include any information that you think will help the working relationship between you and your remote developers. As they’re so new, there is no standard template.
However, below are some of the areas you should look to cover, along with working examples from fellow managers.
Introduction
A manager README will typically include a succinct description of who you are. Touch on why you are writing a personal user manual, what you hope to gain from it, and even how you got the position that you are in. Feel free to include an image or two: yourself, and maybe your pets!
Your introduction should be short and easy to read without any waffle. Try to adhere to the TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) principle to ensure it is not unnecessarily lengthy.
Matt Newkirk’s README gives a perfect example of an introduction, under the heading “Matt, as your manager.” The Senior Software Engineering Manager at Etsy includes less than five lines of text, introducing the intentions of his personal user manual and how he intends to support his employees.
Explain your role
The next step is to explain your job role within the organization. You may include any information that you feel is most relevant. We recommend starting by outlining what your work style is and your broader goals within the business. This can include your typical working hours, along with any preferences relating to your work style.
After that, it is often beneficial to implement some assurances that you intend to uphold with your remote developers. It shows that you’re willing to take some accountability, which is naturally more welcoming. This can come in the form of a “How can I help you?” section. Your aim could be to:
- Provide remote developers with constant context and updates.
- Give an outside perspective on various subjects.
- “Cheer” 🙌 remote team members on in celebration of their successes.
Read More: How to Integrate Freelance Software Developers Into Your Current Team
Working together
Perhaps the most crucial section of your personal user manual is describing what a working relationship looks like between you and your team. Outline the expectations your remote developers should have of you. Outline how you like to communicate with them. And then outline how you can help them do the best job possible.
You should state how timely your responses will be based on the kind of communication methods you are using. For example, how long does it typically take you to respond to emails? If your team needs a faster response, which contact method should they use? In addition to this, explain how you will provide feedback and in what form. How do you structure your 1:1 sessions, and how often do they occur?
It is also essential to tell your remote team members how to interpret your work calendar (make sure it’s shared!). This includes how and when they can arrange appointments with you. Look no further than Matt Newkirk, Sr. Eng. Manager at Etsy once again for a great example. He named this section of his README:
My availability looks scary, but I’m here for you.
In this section, he offers clarification on his busy work schedule, and how employees can interact with him. If you have a day of the week when you prefer not to have meetings, let people know this as well.
Some manager READMEs may also include a section on ways to identify stress and how remote developers can navigate this in the right way. Basically, anything you think will help make work smoother goes in here.
Values and principles
Details of your managerial principles are a key talking point in any manager README. Endeavor to outline your philosophy and the mindsets you expect of others. This will enable your remote team members to understand better the core values which you advocate for.
Roy Rapoport’s README provides an excellent example of this. He is the former Insight Engineering Manager at Netflix. In his README, he states that he doesn’t believe in personality conflicts:
When it comes to adjusting to personalities, I strongly believe that the person in the more senior position is getting paid, partially, to adjust to the personality styles of the people reporting to them.
It’s also good to state what your ideal view of work-life balance looks like. Tell your remote developers how you place importance on both free time and work time. How do you like to spend your free time?
And additionally, look to share any personality quirks and traits, positive or negative. This can help to show your employees that you are a human being too. An approach to consider is choosing a character trait that you would prefer not to have and then explaining what you’ll be doing to improve on it.
Be personable
From a manager’s perspective, it can be beneficial to share something personal within the README. You can include personal interests and hobbies outside the office. A more personable style helps to break away from the more stringent formalities of the workplace.
Adding some personality is always a big plus and makes it particularly suited to remote management, where you naturally need to make more effort to connect with team members on a personal level.
Refer to Molly White’s README to see this in practice. The Tech Lead at HubSpot includes some of her general interests relating to her passion for baking and animals. “If you ever want to strike up a conversation and don’t know what to talk about, these are good bets.”
As you can see, you can mix personal stuff with more serious work issues.
Read More: How to Create a Software Development Workflow for Freelance Hires
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The Benefits of a Personal User Manual
Manager READMEs can provide a range of great benefits for both managers and employees alike, particularly in remote team management. This is what we’ll cover next.
They’re particularly useful for remote teams
READMEs help to eradicate some of the challenges that remote development teams face. To begin with, they provide detailed information on the type of communication expected from the manager and to what extent.
For example, in her README, Katie Womersley, Director of Engineering at Buffer (a fully remote team), states:
If it’s not clear, and you have a nagging feeling, let me know so I can fix it! […] In our remote context, I’d love to be here for you for what comes up because I can’t see how you’re doing by walking around an office.
Establishing communication procedures with your employees when they have a query is vital in managing remote teams. With no physical office space or meeting room, you must remain “approachable,” but in a virtual sense.
As such, a README can help you treat remote freelance developers as you would an in-house developer. This can help foster camaraderie and will help you increase employee retention and productivity.
Build stronger relationships
When your remote developers know your work preferences and expectations, you can dedicate more time to figuring out how to better maximize each other’s strengths. In the long term, this can help in the process of building and maintaining distributed teams, regardless of geographic location.
Furthermore, remote teammates get to understand what causes you stress and how to navigate that. This helps to reduce potential work-related conflict or animosity. Share honestly, and you may be surprised what conversations start as a result!
Attracting talent that understands you
You can communicate your managerial style and value with potential candidates through a Manager README. Candidates can visualize themselves in the role before starting the job.
In this manner, they can see if they are in alignment with your values. For remote working purposes, this helps to attract the best talent who resonates with your managerial approach. As a result, it is a highly effective pre-screening process.
That said, personal user manuals should not be one-way or self-serving. You also need to meet your team’s needs and preferences halfway. Let’s check out some of the criticisms manager READMEs experience below.
Read More: Understanding Remote Team Personalities Gets Your Messages Heard
Criticisms of Personal User Manuals
For all the benefits they bring, manager READMEs are not suitable for everyone. Consequently, some managers struggle to write them, and employees can feel they are unnatural or pass the burden onto the team.
If you’ve been on social media recently, you’ve probably even seen some pretty heated conversations about them!
READMEs are difficult to construct
You may find difficulty in writing about yourself. Identifying your values, the communication methods you prefer, and your unique traits is challenging.
For some, it is hard not to be too self-critical or overly cautious and give off the wrong impression: “Who on earth is this person that needs to write a document to tell me how to work with them?”
Nevertheless, writing a manager README can be a great learning exercise. You may well discover a little bit more about yourself and your managerial performance as you complete and share your personal user manual.
They can be self-serving
Some people perceive READMEs as self-serving to the manager. This is because they can become guides on “how to work with me” rather than “how we can work together.”
In addition, including details such as how to deal with your different moods or the level of pressure you’re under can feel like a step too far if not conveyed correctly.
Potential inconsistencies
In theory, a document describing who you are and how you operate as a manager is an effective communication method. However, this may not always translate into practice.
Your behavior may not consistently match the document. There will also be times when you do not fulfill your assurances, which can break trust. Furthermore, your stated values and principles must align with, and follow, your practices. If not, it will soon render your manager’s README invalid.
Another caution is the need to keep the document updated. Has something changed? Don’t forget to reflect on this. A static document quickly becomes irrelevant.
Read More: 5 Reasons Why Your Engineering Management Style Isn’t Working
So, Should You Write a Manager README?
From a manager’s perspective, READMEs are a great tool to initiate a great working relationship with your employees. While organic communication will always remain effective, a manager README is an excellent starting point, particularly if you are a remote team manager. It will help you attract the best international talent, improve communication, and assist with compensating for the lack of in-person contact.
For remote teams, in particular, having a manager README also outweighs the negatives. It sets out the initial expectations and ensures that all remote developers are clear on the company’s principles and processes.
No doubt, there are challenges in implementing a manager README successfully. However, if you navigate them well, you can share a document that will help you attract the right talent and streamline your onboarding process.
The main things: keep it short and sweet, relevant, helpful, and updated! Write it in a way that people want to read, and that creates value for your direct reports, rather than just passing them a communication burden. A personal user manual is one of many tools, and certainly doesn’t replace one-on-ones or actual conversations with your teammates!
Read More: Can You Encourage Self-Discipline in Remote Workers? Yes, Here’s How
Wrap Up
We are now at the end of our short introduction to manager READMEs (or personal user manuals). By this point, you will understand both the positives of these documents, as well as potential shortcomings to avoid.
You will also know how to go about developing your own one for your organization. And you’ll understand the collaboration improvements with your teammates that you can expect to accrue as a result.
If you have any thoughts or questions about implementing personal user manuals within your particular organization, please let us know in the comments section below.
You can also try Arc, your shortcut to the world’s best remote talent:
⚡️ Access 450,000 top developers, designers, and marketers
⚡️ Vetted and ready to interview
⚡️ Freelance or full-time
