Managing is much more than the actions from manager to direct reports. It's lateral, but most importantly upwards. And it's centered around clear communication, empathy, and candor

1. MANAGING UP, DOWN AND ALL
AROUND
RAD READS

2. TODAY’S OBJECTIVE
Unlock FLOW
and PRODUCTIVITY by
removing FRICTION
in a workflow

3. A COGNITIVE BIAS REMINDER
(AKA WE’RE HARDWIRED FOR SURVIVAL)
▸ Easier to pick angry
faces than happy ones
▸ We have more words
to describe pain than
pleasure
▸ Empathy more
triggered by negative
stimuli than positive

4. WHEN YOU ASSUME…
YOU MAKE AN ASS OUT OF ME
My Mom (I think)
MANAGING UP, DOWN, AND ALL AROUND

5. A FEW EXAMPLES
How’s
your day
going?
When are u
sending me that
document?

6. A FEW EXAMPLES
Can you update
that paragraph?
I’m such a bad
writer

7. A FEW EXAMPLES
Oh, the
meeting, it
was fine?
About that meeting:
next steps?
takeaways? open
items?

8. COMMUNICATING
CLEARLY

9. COMMUNICATING CLEARLY
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE EXTREME
▸Bridgewater embraces RADICAL
TRANSPARENCY
▸Ray Dalio, founder: “You first walk into
a nudist camp and it’s very awkward”
▸Constant surveillance by video and
recordings of all meetings
▸Each worker has a “baseball card”
with their ratings for various attributes.

10. COMMUNICATING CLEARLY
WHAT CAN WE LEARN
▸“Getting in synch” is the best investment you can make
▸It’s unhealthy to hide your weaknesses
▸Be self-reflective and make sure your people are self-
reflective
▸Allow people to probe your thinking thru candid Q&A

11. COMMUNICATING CLEARLY
A SLIGHTLY LESS KOOKY APPROACH (CEO SHOPIFY)
We’re very honest about
everyone’s strengths and
weaknesses.
We even post them on our
internal wiki.
Everyone is invited to do it,
and they can explain how
they like to work and what
they value.

12. RETURNING TO OUR EXAMPLES
Let’s chat about
your strengths/
weaknesses
Let’s chat about
my strengths/
weaknesses

13. COMMUNICATE
CLEARLY
RADICAL CANDOR

14. RADICAL CANDOR
SOUNDS GREAT - BUT HOW?

15. RADICAL CANDOR
RADICAL CANDOR: BUT HOW?
▸ Criticizing your employees
when they screw up is not
just your job, it's actually
your moral obligation.
▸ “If you can't offer radical
candor, the second best
thing you can do is be an
asshole”
HHIPP
Humble
Helpful
Immediate
P: in Person
P: doesn’t personalize
TRY
THIS

16. COMMUNICATE
CLEARLY
ONE-ON-ONES

17. ONE ON ONES
WHAT MAKES A GOOD ONE ON ONE
▸ Frequency: At least 1x/month for an hour
▸ Reminder: It’s the employee’s meeting
▸ Manager’s Role: Imperative to listen
▸ Prep: Employee should prepare a quick agenda
▸ Get to know the report: It’s their meeting:
▸ Past, aspirations, hobbies, values
▸ Andy Grove:“A 90 minute 1:1 can impact 2 weeks of a report’s work.”

18. ONE ON ONES
ALSO - USE TWO HOLD FILES
▸A shared document where both manager and report
accumulate important (yet not urgent) issues for discussion
▸Manager keeps a separate hold file where (s)he flags any
other observations
TRY
THIS

19. COMMUNICATE
CLEARLY
MANAGING UP, FEEDBACK

20. MANAGING UP
WEEKLY UPDATES
▸Imagine the peace of mind if you
were never asked “Hey where’s that
thing you were working on?”
▸Everyone has a boss, investor, and/or
board that they report to
▸Take 15 minutes a week to eliminate
hours of anxiety for both parties

21. MANAGING UP
SOUNDS GREAT - BUT HOW?
PSST!!! IT’S
YOUR
OPPORTUNITY TO
HUMBLE
BRAG!!!!
TRY
THIS

22. RETURNING TO OUR EXAMPLES
Got the
document! I keep it 💯

23. MANAGING UP
ASKING FOR CONTEXT
▸With new projects, a quick conversation can save hours of
work and frustration
▸There are no dumb questions (ever), but here in particular
▸On the contrary, you’re better equipping yourself
▸Both parties should be clear tie task to broader mission

24. COMMUNICATE
CLEARLY
MANAGING UP, FEEDBACK

25. FEEDBACK MEETINGS
MANAGING UP: MANAGER FEEDBACK MEETINGS
▸Quarterly meeting, separate from the 1:1
▸Employee provides direct feedback to manager including:
▸ What can I start doing?
▸ What should I stop doing?
▸ What should I keep doing?
▸(Puts accountability back on the report)
TRY
THIS

26. COMMUNICATE
CLEARLY
SOCIAL NORMS

27. SOCIAL NORMS
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL NORMS
▸Social Norms are the unwritten rules yet collectively
agreed upon rules for groups
▸They include: responsiveness, how disagreements are
handled, small talk, Slack usage
▸Googled studied all its teams and two stuck out:
▸ The distribution of speaking in meetings
▸ High “social sensitivity” - i.e. high empathy

28. MANAGING UP, DOWN AND ALL AROUND
IN SUMMARY
▸ More transparency is usually better (but spare me the baseball
cards)
▸ Be careful of “Ruinous Empathy”
▸ Feedback should HHIPP (Humble, honest, immediate, in-
person, not personalized)
▸ Invest the time in 1:1s (regularity, prep)
▸ Manage up with a weekly email
▸ Discuss your social norms with your teams

29. THANK
YOU