Write a 'how I work' guide to share with my new team
A short, honest manager guide covering how you communicate, decide, and give feedback, plus how to introduce it to the team.
The prompt
Help me write a short 'how I work' guide (sometimes called a manager README) to share with a team I've just taken over. This is step 3 of the 'Take over an existing team' pack; paste the themes from step 2 so the guide responds to what the team told me.
My role and background: [DETAILS]
How I like to communicate: [channels, response times, meeting style]
How I make decisions: [what I decide, what the team decides, how I want disagreement raised]
How I give and want feedback: [DETAILS]
My working hours and boundaries: [DETAILS]
My quirks or blind spots: [honest notes - e.g. "I ask a lot of questions; it's curiosity, not doubt"]
What the team can expect from me, and what I expect from them: [LIST]
Step 2 output (optional): [PASTE]
Requirements:
- Under 500 words, first person, plain and warm. Specific behaviors, not slogans.
- Acknowledge 1-2 things the team raised in our 1:1s and what I'll do about them, without naming anyone.
- Make clear it's a starting point, and invite them to tell me what doesn't work for them.
Return:
1. The guide, in short sections with headings.
2. A short message, or talking points for a team meeting, to introduce it.
3. An optional template the team could use to write their own 'how I work' notes, if they'd like to.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Leadership & Management prompts
What to fill in
- DETAILS
- channels, response times, meeting style
- LIST
- PASTE
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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