Use this play to…
No matter what integrated team you’re in, learning how to work together takes time. We all have different communication and collaboration styles.
This play builds our empathy muscles and honors the fact that we each have our own style of working. You’ll find that you’ll deliver IP a lot faster when you can understand how your teammates work best.
Before you begin…
This play is great for any team, any time. But especially when…
You just started on a new team You’re kicking off a new project with a team. Download the starter deck and review what questions you’d like to ask of yourself and of your teammates. Agree on which ones to focus on.
Who is involved
Anyone in your integrated project team, including individual contributors and team leads.
Materials
Paper
Scissors
Running the Play
Step 1: Spend time before you meet answering each of the prompts (30 mins)
We’ve provided 10 prompts in the deck, but here’s a sample of what you’ll find:
- Conditions I like to work in
- Best ways to communicate with me
- The ways I like to receive feedback
- Things I love
- Favorite saying
Step 2: Share your user manuals with each other (5 - 60 mins)
Pair up into teams of 2 (with one team of 3 if you have an odd number of team members), and take turns sharing feedback on areas such as:
- How you partner’s description of themselves matches up with your experience working with them
- Areas where you need clarification
- Other habits, preferences, or details that you think your partner should consider adding to their user manual
- What surprised you about your partner’s user manual
Each pair should last ~7 minutes.
Continue to pair up for feedback round-robin style until each person has shared with each of their teammates.
Pro Tip
When new hires start, add this as a task in their 90-day plan.
Step 3: Rinse and repeat
Teams will grow and change so as new team members join your poject or team, have them fill it out and share in you next team meeting!
Virtual Tip
Zoom breakout feature is a great way to run this with large groups, by breaking groups up and switching people in groups. Will require multiple presentations, but people are more likely to talk together and this will breed deeper connections
Variations
Go Deeper
Consider adding more prompts to your user manuals:
- I feel that my purpose here is to
- I feel energized and engaged when
- I struggle to focus and stay motivated when
- To make me feel like I matter, please
- I’d really prefer if you would be willing to avoid
- Right now I’m working on
- When you have positive feedback for me, I’d prefer you
- When you have something constructive for me, I’d like if you could
Make it part of your standup
Incorporate these as quick get-to-know each other exercises in your standing meetings by spending 5 min at the beginning of each meeting on one topic/question and running through everyone’s answer.
Gamify It!
Try a gamification version of this play. Collect and anonymize the team slides from one prompt and have the team try to guess whose slide is whose.
