No matter what size team you're working in, personal user manuals are a simple, free and easy tool that can help teams thrive. Listen to this HR Coffee Time episode, to hear career coach Fay Wallis share what personal user manuals are, why they're a great idea, some typical questions or prompts that you could include in them, and then finally, how to make sure that you're using and rolling them out effectively.

Key Points From This Episode

[00:22] Celebrating 10,000 downloads

[01:59] The idea behind personal user manuals

[03:43] Different ways of approaching personal user manuals

[04:12] Examples of what you could include in your personal user manuals

[09:07] Fay's experience of learning about personal user manuals

[10:45] More information on Fay’s new group coaching programme – ‘Inspiring HR’

[12:39] Self-reflection tools: DISC Assessment (explained in detail in episode 3: Building Relationships with difficult people at work) & The Four Tendencies Quiz

[15:13] The Four Tendencies Quiz explained & recommended resources to learn more about it:

• The Four Tendencies book
• The Four Tendencies podcast episode

[18:19] Tips on using personal user manuals successfully

[20:07] Fay refers to previous episodes:

• Episode 23: Setting yourself up for success in your new HR leadership role
• Episode 26: How to be strategic in your new HR leadership role’

Useful Links From This Episode

• Inspiring HR Group Coaching Programme
• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• The Bright Sky Career Coaching website

Further Resources About Personal User Manuals

• Book: Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy’s book, “No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work and How They Help Us Succeed”
• Video: Adam Bryant talking about personal user manuals for The New York Times Higher Ed Leaders Forum
• Podcast episode: The LEADx Leadership Show with Kevin Kruse: ‘Creating your own leadership user’s manual’
• Podcast episode: Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman: ‘Managing remotely with Asana Engineering Manager Kate Reading’
• Article: Atlassian’s guide to using user manuals
• Template: Manual of me
• Template: Cassie Robinson’s template

Rate and Review the Podcast

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you're kind enough to leave a review, please do let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

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