12 “Manager READMEs” from Silicon Valley’s Top Tech Companies have been shared by SoapBox hero. Slack, HubSpot, Netflix, Etsy, Shopify, InVision, Etsy and more have been sharing these. They’ve graciously let me share them with you. At the end of the article I've included my notes in case you’re planning on building your own. They include examples by Engineering Leaders from companies with some of the best culture in tech.
Companies Mentioned
What does tech management at Slack, HubSpot, Netflix, Etsy, Shopify, InVision, and more have in common? A lot, apparently!
When we launched our first SoapBox hero I was surprised to discover a document used to introduce her working style to her team. I had never seen that before and it was awesome!
Did others have these? I needed to know. Eventually, I found a treasure trove of examples by Engineering Leaders from companies with some of the best culture in tech.
They called them Manager READMEs, or Manager User Manuals. And they’ve graciously let me share them with you.
Click the images to read their READMEs. At the end I’ve included my notes in case you’re planning on building your own.
Roy’s first README was built at Netflix. I think it’s great to see how Roy’s document has changed between two companies. It’s a great reminder that a manager adapts to the environment they are in.
This is one of the first READMEs you can find online. Many have taken inspiration from Roy.
“I believe managers work for their direct reports.”
On Deep Work: “The maintenance of inboxes (email, Slack, social media, etc) is not what you’re paid to do. Attention is a valuable resource” Not true for all roles, but true for Scott’s team.
However, almost everyone above included the following:
What is this? —Let’s face it, this is a weird document. Give context on what this is and how to interpret it: to supplement getting to know each other.
About Me / My Job — What are some common things people might like to know about you. Some people’s are more personal than others. If you want to get to know your team’s personal lives then start off by sharing yours.
Personal Principles / Values — What are your default assumptions about people and their intentions? What mindsets do you have and which do you hope other people adopt when working together on the team? What things trigger you?
One-on-Ones — What style of 1:1s do you want out of your team? Most above follow the weekly/bi-weekly, 30 min cadence, and the employee controls the agenda.
Feedback (how to give & how you give) — What type of feedback do you want? Are you comfortable with people being blunt with you? How do you prefer to give feedback? How do you expect your team to react to feedback?
How to interpret my calendar — Sometimes a manager’s calendar can be packed. Almost every manager above wants their team to know that they are the most important part of their job, so they’re explicit in saying so. Message them on slack if you need to talk. They’ll make time.
Many also include the following:
Personal performance scales — If an employee asks, “Where do I stand?” How will you respond? Most seem to do Red/Orange/Green. While Green and Red are clear indicators, orange can open to interpretation. What does that mean and how do you intend for people to react?
D.R.I. Principle — Not everyone is a believer in Directly Responsible Individual principle, but if you are it can be very powerful. First, though, you need to set the expectation that they take that responsibly.
Done? Ship it!
How? Consensus from the authors I’ve talked to seems to be:
The most effective way to deliver the document is to take employees through it in a 1:1.
Easiest time to start is during an employee’s on-boarding. Their on-boarding or your own (if you’re inheriting a team)
You made it to the end!
Here’s my question for you: Anything that I missed in my notes? Anything that they missed in their documents? What are a must-haves in your doc?
Thanks for reading,Brennan
p.s. You should be having these conversations with your team at least bi-weekly. If your conversations are stale, inconsistent, or unorganized, you should try outSoapBoxnow.
Brennan is the CEO & Co-founder of SoapBox, the #1 place to work in Canada. SoapBox, is an app and assistant for managers to have better one-on-ones, team meetings, town-halls and more, with their team.
If you liked this article, you should give it 12👏’s (one for each readme) to help others find it!👇