user manual
“When was the last time you felt frustrated, annoyed, or disturbed by a colleague?” It’s really difficult to get to know one another, because so much of what is important about ourselves goes unsaid.
Think about the colleagues who work wonderfully with you, and what it took to get there. You probably worked with each other long enough (or through enough tough times!) to figure out your different working styles. You’ve sat next to them as they’re ranting after a bad meeting, supported them in figuring out workplace dynamics, and had countless conversations over the beverages of your choice (we’re split between gin and tea). You managed to subconsciously pick up what makes each other tick.
we don't explicitly communicate our working styles
a tool for new challenges
And now due to the pandemic, with remote working becoming a norm, it is harder to do that. We no longer have the opportunities to co-exist and observe each other. Most of our interactions are entirely functional: video calls and meetings centred around just work. Explicitly stating our preferences is one way of sharing our styles, but it can also be a great way to sound like an asshole - it’s a fine line between being assertive and aggressive.
And that’s for existing colleagues: imagine if you were starting afresh? Both of us started new jobs during the pandemic, in the middle of a lockdown, and found that to be a huge challenge. How do new joiners connect with other colleagues and build relationships?
That’s why we want to share the concept of your user manual. It’s the funnest way we know to share your working styles with others. And yes, there will be GIFs.
