ReadMe.jasonwidup

Here it is - my Manager ReadMe. The primary audience for this is people who work with me and on teams that I manage! Here it goes!

How to use this document

• Both people and software are highly complex things. Complex software often comes with instructions, readme files, etc. - but people normally do not. The purpose of this document is to help the reader and I quickly push through some of the normal relationship-forming norms that can sometimes take time.

Some personal stuff about me…

• First and most importantly, I’m a husband to Heather, a father to Payton, my 17 year old daughter, and Brendan, my 13 year old son.
• I love dogs, all kinds of dogs. If we're around dogs together at some point, you'll see me light up in new ways. There's something about the loyalty, dedication, and personality of dogs that I just love.
• I worked my way through college by joining the Marine Corps reserve when I was 19. It was in the service where I learned the values of hard work, responsibility, accountability, and teamwork that I keep with me.
• I value trust, honesty, hard work, empathy and caring over most everything else.
• I don't own a suit and if I have to wear a tie, it'll take me 5 tries to get it right. My uniform is a plaid shirt, jeans, and Patagonia fleece sweaters (or hoodies!).

What I feel my role is, generally…

• I work FOR all of you, and my primary responsibility is to be your advocate and champion. I won't blindly advocate as that would be disingenuous. We'll work to get aligned, and from then on I will always support you.
• It's my job to set a clear mission and vision for the team, and to make decisions that will help the team and department make continuous progress forward.
• It's my job to create a safe place for you to do your best work. Safe means feeling comfortable making mistakes and being vocal about them. Safe means feeling ok that the team knows your shortcomings - but knowing they will help with those instead of exposing them. Safe means you can focus on your work and not on politics or drama.
• I remove obstacles, but only when necessary. You are likely more than capable of removing them yourself - but in those few situations where that obstacle is too big, I'll be there to help move it.
• I feel strongly that it is my job to mentor and coach you, not to tell you what to do or how to do it. You are all professionals in your respective fields. I'll be there to help you get there, but not to make the decision for you.

My basic expectations…

• Feedback is a gift and should be treated that way. No one ever got better at what they do without feedback. I expect everyone to be open to feedback from anywhere. And I need, and expect direct feedback as well. I've had a lot of time to hone my style, but I'm still learning and have room to grow.
• I will always assume that you are working as hard as you can. It's not my, nor your manager's job to push you to work harder. Our expectation is that what you are giving, is your all. And everyone's "all" is different. That's the trust we need to have. I want you to dig inside yourself and ask, "is this my 110%, or can I do more?" I don't mean working LONGER - I'm talking about getting stuff done quickly, with high quality, which can be exhausting sometimes.
• Trust and honesty always. I've never seen a situation where hiding something made it actually go away. We need to foster an open and honest environment, through good, bad, and everything in between. High performing teams have trust and honesty at the core. This takes practice - but the expectation is that we START WITH TRUST and we give the benefit of the doubt.

What a typical week of working with me will look like…

• 1on1s. My direct reports will always have at least one per week. I also do 1on1s with all staff who report to me, but in different cadences. We'll figure that cadence out the first time we meet. 1on1s are your time exclusively - I may have a few things, but the time will be yours to use how you want. The main things I'll always want to cover are: 1) how are you doing personally and professionally, 2) how are your major projects progressing, and 3) what are the 1-3 things you're focused on right now.
• I have a love and hate relationship with meetings. I like to meet to discuss and brainstorm meaty topics that need solutions vs. reading and responding individually to an email. This creates more meetings. I dislike meetings about status or where one or two people are doing a majority of the talking with 5 or more people present. Those can likely be done via email, status reports or Slack.

How to best engage/communicate with me

• My calendar will likely get full pretty quickly - but my most important responsibility is people. I keep an open calendar so everyone in the org can see what's on it. If you need time with me and can't find any, please just get a hold of me and I'll move something so we can meet. And never feel bad about that.
• Slack is always great for quick back/forth. I personally don't like long emails and responding to long emails by myself. I much prefer a conversation about something. For example, if you just drafted a 15 slide deck and want my feedback, definitely do not send it to me blindly. Schedule 30-mins with me to review. Even better, think ahead and get that time on the calendar several days in advance - it'll make sure you have the time, and it will act as a little forcing function to help you stay focused on completing it. Win win!

My quirks...

• I am an introvert by nature - so please don't mistake me being quiet with a lack of engagement or care. I am paying attention and I will speak up.
• I have a facial tick with my eyes. If I'm heavily concentrating on something or really engaged and using my brain, you'll often see me close my eyes or hard blink quite a bit. It's something I used to be embarrassed by and try to control, now it's just who I am!
• I have had 3 back surgeries that didn't work well - so I'm often dealing with back pain (and I don't take pain meds, by principle). I will often slouch in my chair, because that is in fact, the best position for my condition. I may also get up and walk around during meetings. Don't mistake this for apathy or laziness or bad posture or boredom :-D.

Things I'm working on...

• I am a serial optimist, which is awesome to work with, but can sometimes be dangerous if I don't see the potential risks or I blindly commit to something. This is something I'm very aware of, but don't hesitate to play a little devil's advocate with me.
• As an open book type of person, I work on what the right amount and level of information is for people. My tendency is to just talk openly with all levels, but as a leader, that isn't always possible or the right approach. I will never lie to anyone, but there will be cases where I will have to filter information simply due to my position.
• I have a lot of empathy for humans and that can sometimes get in the way of doing what's right for someone in a professional setting. I've worked on understanding that sometimes having the most difficult professional conversations, are some of the biggest ways I can show people that I care.