Get to know your team

How can you fast track getting to know each other?

You know that team members who know more about each other stand more chance of building trust and understanding, and ultimately working together more effectively, but how do you fast track that?

Maybe you’ve had a re-structure and you’ve got a new team. Maybe there’s just one new joiner into a team who’ve been together for a while. Maybe you all work virtually and haven’t gone beyond asking about each other’s weekends or holidays. Maybe you want to create a high performing team.

For any of those scenarios and more besides, a ‘Manual of Me’ can save years of trying to figure out the unwritten rules of engagement that we usually only discover after years of trial and error.

Let’s think a little laterally. How would you know how to get the best from a new Dishwasher or Washing machine?

Simple – they come with a user manual.

• You get warnings of what to do, what not to do
  
• You get tips like how to clean the rubber seals / waste traps to keep them operating at max potential (and not causing a stink)
  
• You get shortcuts and ideas on how to programme them effectively

So how about applying the same principles to learn more about how to get the best from each other?

What does a Manual of Me look like?

At it’s simplest, it could be a bulleted list of questions and answers, like the examples below.

You could choose to standardise these across a team or give each person the freedom to create their own categories based on what they most want to share.

Examples could include:

The basics you should know about me are…

You could add – previous work experience, family, likes / dislikes, how you take your coffee

E.g. I started my career later in life (28) after spending 10 years travelling the World, living in places like Australis, Israel, Thailand and Indonesia. I’ve worked for companies including: Unilever, the BBC and Jaguar Land Rover. I love a latte, no sugar – but only before 12pm. I’m married to Alex, and have 2 teenage girls – Mabel and Flo. I can’t stand peanut butter or bananas.

My personality preferences are …

You could use Insights Discovery preferences or anything else that your team could identify with‍

E.g. I have a preference for Red energy, which means you might experience my competitive nature and fast pace. Closely followed by Blue, then Yellow with less Green. Which means that I don’t naturally tend to see what’s going on for people. I’m working on this – let me know if you need more.‍

I communicate best by …

You could share communication styles or preferred methods

E.g. Slack is the quickest way to get a response from me. I never answer my phone between 3-5, but I do check text messages. I like to be copied into emails and prefer more communication rather than less, so I’m in the loop. I will do the same for you as a default, unless you let me know it doesn’t work for you.

The best working environment for me is …

You could add anything that helps people understand how you’ll work best

E.g. I like a quiet working environment. I find it hard to do deep work that needs concentration if there are a lot of distractions. I like having my own desk space and find it hard to work in hot, stuffy rooms. If I’ve got my headphones in when I’m at my desk, please only interrupt if it’s urgent.

The feedback that works for me is …

You could share how or when feedback would be valued, the amount of feedback you like‍

E.g. Loads, keep it coming - I like a bucketful! Tell me openly and clearly what’s working for you and what isn’t. It’s hard to offend me, so don’t worry about finding the right words. I prefer it face to face, so we can talk it over. It’s in my nature to want to understand more, so I may ask a few questions. This is so I understand fully and can make changes.‍

I add value to teams by …

You could your strengths, super-powers, a unique working approach‍

E.g. I can quickly see flaws and risks, I defend the team to the hilt (as long as you’re giving your best work). I’m an excel super-hero

The brief I can work best from includes …

You could add anything here that helps others to know what will work best‍

E.g. A clear vision – what we’re working towards, and an understanding of what’s expected of me, but without prescriptive steps of how I should get there

Outside of work I’m passionate about …

You could add anything about hobbies, interests, family, friends, charity work / fundraisers

E.g. I’m a football coach for the local U15 girls team and a passionate advocate for mental health and wellbeing. I’m running the London Marathon this year to raise funds for Mind.

Things I need …

You could add anything that helps you to operate at your best at work

E.g. Honesty and communication. Let me know what you’re working on and what challenges you face. Don’t ever hide mistakes, we all make them, but I do need you to learn from them. Don’t make promises you can’t keep! A deadline is exactly that. If you’re struggling to meet it, I need to know in advance to manage expectations or to help you overcome the blockers and challenges.

Things I struggle with …

You could add anything that helps people understand how to get the best from you

E.g. Waffle. Let’s keep it clear when we communicate. Tell me clearly what the context is, be succinct, tell me what you need me to do. Happy to help guide you on this.

You’ll convince me to get on board by …

You could expand on how to communicate with you, give more clarity on your Insights Discovery preferences, share what influences you

E.g. Be clear about what you want / need from me. Tell me in as few words as possible. Then convince me with strong evidence – using a max of 3 key points.

How do we share the Manual of Me?

The beauty of this idea is that there’s no one set way.

Some teams set up a Teams Channel or Intranet space to simply share their Q&A sheets.

Some teams create space in a team meeting or away day to bring to life however they want.

Some teams go all out and create infographics or images to bring their manual to life.

And if you’re not sure whether this would work for your team, you could start by using them as part of team member onboarding or in 1-1s

The key to making these work is realising that people will only flex THEIR preferred styles to YOURS, if you are reciprocating! It’s not a one-way street …