Intended for people in my team, this document is to help you understand how I work. It is designed so that I can be more predictable for you, be more accountable to you, and you get the most value out of me as your manager.
This document is not a replacement for direct interactions between us, or a FAQ for any future questions. If you have questions, you are always welcome to reach out.
I see my role as a manager is to help my team grow their careers, and help individuals build skills and experience required to obtain their next role through success in their current role.
I believe that you will be successful if you have clarity in your role, a role that gives you energy, and team structure and environment that supports you.
I believe that for you to thrive, the team needs to thrive, and my job is to create an environment where the team thrives.
Trust and respect come from open communication, between the team members, and feedback to me. I value your feedback and will ask you for it, it helps me guide the team and make informed decisions. Without this insight, I am guessing.
I value and welcome everyone's perspective, and believe it is only through diverse insight that we make our best decisions. If you think I am making a mistake, tell me. Even if I think your perspective is not the correct course of action, I still value it.
I will refer to "us" and "we" and "the team" as a group even when we are talking about your individual goals. This does not mean the concept of "you" is not important - I will always be thinking about your role as part of the team so you share in everyone's success, they share in your success, and no one has to go alone.
Mutual respect in the team is paramount. Always assume good intentions, and actively listen to each other.
We win together, so never go alone. And if we fail, we can address quickly as a group and move towards success.
You have permission to fail. This does not mean I want you to fail, but moreso that I encourage us to take risks together.
I need to ensure I call out explicitly the importance of fostering an inclusive environment for everyone that fosters diverse perspectives. This is something I truly believe in and am committed to driving. I hold myself accountable to this and expect my teams to hold me accountable.
I believe people perform at their best when they believe they belong, are included, heard, valued, and supported. I believe teams perform at their best when they leverage the diverse perspectives of everyone in the team, and in turn create an inclusive environment for their people.
We will inevitably disagree at times, and still need to move forward. We can always stay agile and plot a new course if we are wrong, but not making a decision is much worse - perfection is the enemy of progress.
Best ways to contact me:
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Teams - Direct message
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Email
Teams is by far the best.
I will often work on weekends, out of hours, and occasionally on vacation. I do not expect this from you. I do not expect a response if I send a message to you out of hours.
For emergencies - Teams is still the most resilient and reliable mode of communication.
To ensure there is an opportunity for us to connect, I will schedule regular 1:1's with all direct and skip reports.
The meeting agenda is yours, and the purpose is not a status meeting. In person meetings are best if possible, however with locations being across countries at times, video conference is the next best option.
For my directs I schedule weekly 1:1's for 30 minutes. For my skip reports I schedule 15 minutes minimum every 3 months.
Anyone is welcome to ask for a meeting with me in addition to this at any time. My calendar may be open, but this does not mean my schedule is open. Availability will determine how soon we can meet.
We will run a studio town hall every 3 months, in which we will discuss high level progress, communication from our leadership, and I will share my thoughts. I will seek input from you for this and welcome participation. I will also run these ahead of our skip meetings to make the most of the 1:1 interaction.
If you are posting requests for approval (leave, expenses, etc) to me, I generally approve in real-time. If I have not approved within 24 hours, feel free to follow up with me on Teams.
Expenses grouped into logical chunks make it significantly easier for me to approve. If I have to spend time deciphering your approvals, I can not do it in real-time. As such I will need to set aside time which can in turn add days to the approval turnaround.
For example...
Expenses for <Customer Engagement>
Expenses for <Customer Engagement 2>
General Expenses
... helps me assess and approve much faster than ...
Expenses for <Customer Engagement 1> + <Customer Engagement> + General Expenses + ...