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“Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

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Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#51

Post by ryandrake »

silveroriole wrote: post #8

Interesting that many seem to prefer weekly 1:1s. That seems far too much to me. I would absolutely dread having to spend so much time on that with my manager or my managees and I can’t imagine there are substantial benefits to it (does anyone REALLY have meaningful thoughts about their job/career path EVERY WEEK?)

I had a job where my Manager didn't schedule weekly 1:1s, and what ended up happening is that the only face time I got with my manager was when I did something wrong and needed to get beaten up. I dreaded all contact. After some years of this, I suggested we have weekly 1:1s instead, and it was great, because we could share other topics: good things, when things were going good, career growth, etc. Totally changed things.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#52

Post by geofft »

FireBeyond wrote: post #38
geofft wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I reread them all but couldn't see it, sorry - which one was this? (I mean, that sounds like a good thing. Firing people who aren't good for the team is an important responsibility of any manager who doesn't want the rest of their team to quit, so I would ideally want to know that my manager has at least thought about it a little.)

Welcome to Netflix and Me ( https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TPSwdqDqVfWG9anfiOjG... ), including slides like "Are you afraid of being fired yet?"

Oh, that's the old version of http://bit.ly/roy-slack-readme , which no longer has it (and I skipped reading the old version because I read the new one, thanks!).

My understanding is that Netflix intends to have an unusually high-firing culture (cf. their culture deck, "The unusual part is that we give adequate performers a generous severance package"), so if I'm at Netflix I absolutely want my manager to be up-front about how they interpret that and what signs I have that I'm an adequate performer and not a top one. By signing onto Netflix I am afraid of being fired, but that reflects on the company and not on the manager. (And the answers this manager gave are good: statistics about firing and an explicit statement that it won't take you by surprise.) You'll note that the firing talk is gone from the current version, and the green/yellow/red performance stuff (which is generically useful) stays.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#53

Post by SeanLockItUp »

ggambetta wrote: post #11
silveroriole wrote: post #8

Interesting that many seem to prefer weekly 1:1s. That seems far too much to me. I would absolutely dread having to spend so much time on that with my manager or my managees and I can’t imagine there are substantial benefits to it (does anyone REALLY have meaningful thoughts about their job/career path EVERY WEEK?)

Whenever I've managed people, I've made a point of scheduling weekly 1:1s; did that even with 12 or so reports, and it did take a significant chunk of time, but it was IMO one of the most important things, if not the most important thing, I could do for them as a manager (and also the one I enjoyed the most about the role). As other commenters have said, the 1:1 time is the report's time. It's a chunk of time in whic…

I don't know but when I was reading your comment I just kept thinking that the weekly 1:1 that you're advocating is being done for your reports is really just being done for yourself.

I'm with the OP that 1:1 every 2 weeks is better.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#54

Post by jack9 »

lsiebert wrote: post #43
apple4ever wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the same thing. Weekly 1:1s are worthless. That’s coming from an employee who had to do them and a manager who refuses to do them. I found them a waste of time when I had to do them. I hated them because if I needed to discuss something with my boss I would, and I had better things to do with my time than talk to him. They are also an interruption, so even if they are only 5 minutes, that’s at least 30 minu…

Hmm... so you aren't one of those people who feel uncomfortable bringing things up to their boss. That doesn't mean they don't exist. One of the fundamentals every manager needs to learn is, people are not all like you. Extroverts may need someone to bounce ideas off of. Introverts may need a time to bring something they have been thinking about to your attention, because otherwise they assume you don't want to be bo…

> so you aren't one of those people who feel uncomfortable bringing things up to their boss. That doesn't mean they don't exist.

Not at all. I'm happy to complain all day long, but what good does it do week after week? 1:1s are not a make everyone happy and not an opportunity to retread the same old stories. We work in the same place, we see the same things. We don't work together that closely, you're too disconnected to understand and taking up time from my actual responsibilities. Weekly 1:1s aren't just a sign, but proof of bad management in any company.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#55

Post by rdl »

FireBeyond wrote: post #38
geofft wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I reread them all but couldn't see it, sorry - which one was this? (I mean, that sounds like a good thing. Firing people who aren't good for the team is an important responsibility of any manager who doesn't want the rest of their team to quit, so I would ideally want to know that my manager has at least thought about it a little.)

Welcome to Netflix and Me ( https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TPSwdqDqVfWG9anfiOjG... ), including slides like "Are you afraid of being fired yet?"

That's a netflix-wide thing, not specific to that manager.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#56

Post by rdl »

bitL wrote: post #20

The best company I've ever worked for had no managers (beside owners). They made it to $1B, loved by HN crowd, their products used by many of you, and nobody ever wanted to manage anything there. People just discussed stuff and decided to do whatever looked super interesting. One team there had actually a person that was behaving like a manager, and that product completely flopped on the market.

Valve (presumably the company you're talking about) is sitting on a money faucet, and while they seem to be good at some things, they're pretty bad at a lot of software/services features which a more traditional management structure could easily do. Flat structure seems like it made more sense for what Valve was 5 years ago than what the product is today.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#57

Post by stubish »

silveroriole wrote: post #8

Interesting that many seem to prefer weekly 1:1s. That seems far too much to me. I would absolutely dread having to spend so much time on that with my manager or my managees and I can’t imagine there are substantial benefits to it (does anyone REALLY have meaningful thoughts about their job/career path EVERY WEEK?)

"So much time" means they are taking longer than they need to. There is no reason a weekly 1:1 needs to take more than a more than a couple if minutes in some cases: "I'm still buried in $project", "Need anything from me?", "No, I'm good".

It does seem natural for people to want to fill some minimum time period though. I always seem to be the one calling "anything else for this meeting?" to cut them short before the rambling sets in. If nobody is guiding the meeting, then it is your job.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#58

Post by harlanji »

ams6110 wrote: post #46
lsiebert wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm... so you aren't one of those people who feel uncomfortable bringing things up to their boss. That doesn't mean they don't exist. One of the fundamentals every manager needs to learn is, people are not all like you. Extroverts may need someone to bounce ideas off of. Introverts may need a time to bring something they have been thinking about to your attention, because otherwise they assume you don't want to be bo…

> People have families and relationships and health issues outside of work that never the less it may be helpful to discuss This is one of the problems I had with my managers who like to do one-on-ones. They always wanted to talk about things outside of work. Got to the point where I just wanted to say none of your effing business, but I tend to be more polite than that in a professional setting. For me work is its o…

You’re not alone, although we are hard to employ in the BA it feels. I feel it’s partially due to the prevalence of divide and conquer and creatives’ pattern recognition, I’ve also been pushed off a hand worth of jobs since moving here for non-performance reasons (ie. social/cultural), leaving me pretty apprehensive and alone with damaged confidence. Not watching Silicon Valley or Black Mirror feels like the next outgroup indicator in development. The latter experience alone is enough to scare off any manager who wants to talk life outside of work (never mind my extensive pre-sf success and big circles, I must disclaim, I still feel like a good person who just wants to move on and thrive personally and professionally).

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#59

Post by daniel_iversen »

There seems to be a fair amount of skepticism about this method, but I think it’s a great system - and it can with great success be extended to everyone else in the company too - not just managers. At Dropbox, a lot of employees have (and we’re all encouraged to have) a “Working with me” document that describes your personality and work style, how you like to get and receive feedback, your career goals, your schedule and communication preferences etc.. it helps people work with each other in a more compatible, effective and empathetic way. But there’s definitely a level of vulnerability and trust that is needed to make it work, however it’s a powerful tool if you have a good culture to support it. Just my 5 cents.

Re: “Manager READMEs” from some tech companies

#60

Post by bitL »

jedberg wrote: post #42
bitL wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Employee_README.md: I don't need a manager. Just tell me what you want and I'll make it for you without anyone messing up with my productivity. Thank you!

If I tell you what I want you won't be engaged or excited. Also, I may not tell you the right thing -- it may not play to all your strengths or what you are interested in right now. If I tell you what the company goals are and our teams goals, and then ask you how you can use your unique talents to help us achieve those goals, you'll be much more engaged in the work, and also have a greater understanding of how your…

I firmly believe cooperative talented people can self-manage and drive vision better than any top-down authority. I can understand it won't work with people that go to work just for money though.
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