MANAGING UP, DOWN AND ALL AROUND RAD READS
MANAGING UP, DOWN AND ALL AROUND
RAD READS
TODAY’S OBJECTIVE
Unlock FLOW and PRODUCTIVITY by
removing FRICTIONin a workflow
A COGNITIVE BIAS REMINDER (AKA WE’RE HARDWIRED FOR SURVIVAL)
▸ Easier to pick angry faces than happy ones
▸ We have more words to describe pain than pleasure
▸ Empathy more triggered by negative stimuli than positive
WHEN YOU ASSUME… YOU MAKE AN ASS OUT OF ME
My Mom (I think)
MANAGING UP, DOWN, AND ALL AROUND
A FEW EXAMPLES
How’s your day going?
When are u sending me that document?
A FEW EXAMPLES
Can you update that paragraph?
I’m such a bad writer
A FEW EXAMPLES
Oh, the meeting, it was fine?
About that meeting: next steps? takeaways? open items?
COMMUNICATING CLEARLY
COMMUNICATING CLEARLY
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE EXTREME▸Bridgewater embraces RADICAL
TRANSPARENCY
▸Ray Dalio, founder: “You first walk into a nudist camp and it’s very awkward”
▸Constant surveillance by video and recordings of all meetings
▸Each worker has a “baseball card” with their ratings for various attributes.
COMMUNICATING CLEARLY
WHAT CAN WE LEARN
▸ “Getting in synch” is the best investment you can make
▸ It’s unhealthy to hide your weaknesses
▸Be self-reflective and make sure your people are self-reflective
▸Allow people to probe your thinking thru candid Q&A
COMMUNICATING CLEARLY
A SLIGHTLY LESS KOOKY APPROACH (CEO SHOPIFY)
We’re very honest about everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.
We even post them on our internal wiki.
Everyone is invited to do it, and they can explain how they like to work and what they value.
RETURNING TO OUR EXAMPLES
Let’s chat about your strengths/weaknesses
Let’s chat about my strengths/weaknesses
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
RADICAL CANDOR
RADICAL CANDOR
SOUNDS GREAT - BUT HOW?
RADICAL CANDOR
RADICAL CANDOR: BUT HOW?
▸Criticizing your employees when they screw up is not just your job, it's actually your moral obligation.
▸ “If you can't offer radical candor, the second best thing you can do is be an asshole”
HHIPP HumbleHelpfulImmediateP: in PersonP: doesn’t personalize
TRY THIS
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
ONE-ON-ONES
ONE ON ONES
WHAT MAKES A GOOD ONE ON ONE
▸Frequency: At least 1x/month for an hour
▸Reminder: It’s the employee’s meeting
▸Manager’s Role: Imperative to listen
▸Prep: Employee should prepare a quick agenda
▸Get to know the report: It’s their meeting:
▸ Past, aspirations, hobbies, values
▸Andy Grove:“A 90 minute 1:1 can impact 2 weeks of a report’s work.”
ONE ON ONES
ALSO - USE TWO HOLD FILES
▸A shared document where both manager and report accumulate important (yet not urgent) issues for discussion
▸Manager keeps a separate hold file where (s)he flags any other observations
TRY THIS
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
MANAGING UP, FEEDBACK
MANAGING UP
WEEKLY UPDATES
▸ Imagine the peace of mind if you were never asked “Hey where’s that thing you were working on?”
▸Everyone has a boss, investor, and/or board that they report to
▸Take 15 minutes a week to eliminate hours of anxiety for both parties
MANAGING UP
SOUNDS GREAT - BUT HOW?
PSST!!! IT’S YOUR
OPPORTUNITY TO HUMBLE BRAG!!!!
TRY THIS
RETURNING TO OUR EXAMPLES
Got the document! I keep it 💯
MANAGING UP
ASKING FOR CONTEXT
▸With new projects, a quick conversation can save hours of work and frustration
▸There are no dumb questions (ever), but here in particular
▸On the contrary, you’re better equipping yourself
▸Both parties should be clear tie task to broader mission
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
MANAGING UP, FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK MEETINGS
MANAGING UP: MANAGER FEEDBACK MEETINGS
▸Quarterly meeting, separate from the 1:1
▸Employee provides direct feedback to manager including:
▸ What can I start doing?
▸ What should I stop doing?
▸ What should I keep doing?
▸ (Puts accountability back on the report)
TRY THIS
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
SOCIAL NORMS
SOCIAL NORMS
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL NORMS
▸Social Norms are the unwritten rules yet collectively agreed upon rules for groups
▸They include: responsiveness, how disagreements are handled, small talk, Slack usage
▸Googled studied all its teams and two stuck out:
▸ The distribution of speaking in meetings
▸ High “social sensitivity” - i.e. high empathy
MANAGING UP, DOWN AND ALL AROUND
IN SUMMARY
▸More transparency is usually better (but spare me the baseball cards)
▸Be careful of “Ruinous Empathy”
▸ Feedback should HHIPP (Humble, honest, immediate, in-person, not personalized)
▸ Invest the time in 1:1s (regularity, prep)
▸Manage up with a weekly email
▸Discuss your social norms with your teams
THANK YOU