What is a User Manual for Me?
As defined on the Manual For Me website “A Manual of Me is a powerful framework which helps you discover and communicate your working preferences, motivations and needs, so we can all work better together.”
Why have I done it? I hope it lets people know how to get the best out of me and also allows for self reflection on area’s I could improve.
With that out the way, let’s get on with it.
How I like to work
I prefer to start early and finish no later than 1700 through the week. If I had to choose between late night working and a catch up session over the weekend, weekend wins every time. If I email you at night or over the weekend I don’t expect an immediate reply.
I do prefer my own desk but can work anywhere there’s WiFi and power. What I do need though is multiple monitors/a large screen real estate. Working off one small screen greatly impacts my productivity. As for location, 1 or 2 days a week from home gives me more time to think, less interruptions and a change in scenery.
The best ways to communicate with me
- I much prefer asynchronous communication – a mail, IM, text is much preferred to a meeting for example.
- I’m slowing pivoting to video by default over audio which is a hard habit to break.
- If you book in a meeting, add some context or agenda. I hate meetings with nothing more than a meaningless subject. It’s lazy and shows you don’t really value my time. And not every meeting needs to be 30 or 60 minutes!
- I always say “my door is always open” and I mean it – I really love drop-in’s and face to face chats…but the calendar is rammed so often it’s closed. Need to use the wedge more going forward.
How I like to receive feedback
I welcome honest and clear communication – how can I fix and improve without it?
What I struggle with
- Endless back to back meetings
- Talking over others – give everyone room to speak
- People treating me differently due to the role
- A constant battle with imposter syndrome
What are my values
- Honesty – be truthful, don’t lie, don’t bullshit. Once trust is broken I find it difficult to repair.
- Objectivity – act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias
- Commitment – work hard and be consistent and if you say you will do something, follow through
What is My Personality Type
Myers-Briggs is bullshit, right? I’ve done this a couple of times over the years and I’m an ISTJ and I can’t disagree with what the test concludes.
I’m introverted, day to day I go with evidence although the gut feel is never too far away but can’t disagree with Sensing and Thinking. Finally I’m more Judging than Perceiving although suffer from “do as I say, not as I do” a bit too often.
So while I don’t think Myers-Briggs should be used to put people into categories or used as a candidate selection tool it is useful to understand your personality traits and for others that work with you to have some insight into what makes you tick.