Personal User Manual Template (Free, with Example)
Leadership tools for managers › Team conversations
A personal user manual is a one-page guide to how you work best: how to reach you, how you like feedback, when you do your best work, and what to watch for when you're stretched. It's sometimes called a "working with me" guide, and when a manager writes one for their team, a manager README. It turns the things people usually learn about each other the hard way into something they can read in five minutes.
The short version: answer six questions about yourself in two or three sentences each (seven if you manage people), share it with your team, and ask them to write theirs. Fill it in below, then copy, download or print it.
Fill in the templateSee an exampleManager README
Why write a personal user manual?
Most friction in a team isn't about the work. It's about mismatched expectations nobody said out loud: one person wants a quick message, another wants a meeting; one wants feedback straight away, another needs a day to think. A user manual makes those preferences explicit, so people stop guessing.
- Faster onboarding. A new joiner reads the team's manuals in week one instead of learning them through mistakes.
- Better 1:1s. You already know how each person wants feedback, so you can give it their way.
- Fewer silent frustrations. "Why does she always call?" becomes "she said she talks problems out".
- Trust. Sharing how you work, including where you struggle, is a small, safe way to be open.
The personal user manual template
Six sections, based on the My User Manual card. The questions are real prompts from the Work Connections set in The Team Conversation Deck.
| Section | What goes in it | Questions to answer |
|---|---|---|
| About me | A short intro: what you do outside work, a hidden talent, a fun fact. | What's one thing you've learned recently that changed how you approach your work? |
| How to reach me | Channels, response times, and what's off limits. | Do you prefer to respond to messages immediately or batch your responses at set times? Do you prefer email or face-to-face conversations for important topics? |
| How I work best | When and how you do your best work. | Do you prefer to eat the frog (tackle hardest tasks first) or warm up with easier tasks? When you're stuck on a problem, do you prefer to work through it alone or talk it out with someone? Do you prefer to have context and background before jumping into a task, or just the essential details? |
| Feedback and recognition | How you like to receive feedback, and how you like good work to be noticed. | If you were to receive constructive feedback from another team member how would you like to receive it? Do you prefer receiving recognition publicly in team settings or through private one-on-one feedback? |
| When I'm stretched | The signs you're at capacity, and what helps. | What are the signs that you're at capacity and shouldn't take on anything else? What should I look for? When you're really stressed or overwhelmed, what should your teammates look out for? How does your communication change? |
| What I want to learn | Where you're trying to grow, so others can help. | Would you rather be the expert in one area or know a little about everything? What areas of the company would you like to learn more about? |
Fill in your user manual (free, no sign-up)
Fill in your user manual
Type straight into the boxes, skip any that don't fit, then copy it, download it or print it. Nothing is saved or sent: if you close the tab, it's gone, so copy it first.
"Do you prefer email or face-to-face conversations for important topics?"
"When you're stuck on a problem, do you prefer to work through it alone or talk it out with someone?"
"Do you prefer to have context and background before jumping into a task, or just the essential details?"
"Do you prefer receiving recognition publicly in team settings or through private one-on-one feedback?"
"When you're really stressed or overwhelmed, what should your teammates look out for? How does your communication change?"
"What areas of the company would you like to learn more about?"
How do I run 1:1s?
How should you escalate a problem?
What a good one looks like
Example: a filled-in user manual
A fictional customer support team lead, "Sam". Yours should sound like you, not like this.
About me: Outside work I coach my daughter's under-10s football team, badly. I worked in a call centre for four years before I managed one, so I've done most of the jobs on this team.
How to reach me: Chat for anything quick; I batch replies at 10:00, 13:00 and 16:00. Call me if a customer is affected. Bad news in person or on a call, never in a long message. I don't read messages after 19:00 and I don't expect you to either.
How I work best: Mornings are my thinking time, so I try to keep 08:30–10:00 free of meetings. I talk problems out, so if I ring you to 'think out loud' it doesn't mean something's wrong. Give me the headline first, then the detail.
Feedback and recognition: Tell me straight and tell me soon; I'd rather hear it the same day than in a review. Privately, please. For recognition, a thank-you in the team channel means more to me than a mention in a big meeting.
When I'm stretched: When I'm overloaded my messages get shorter and I stop asking questions. If you notice that, it's fine to ask 'what can I take off your plate?'
What I want to learn: I'm trying to understand our product team's roadmap better, so I can explain changes to the team before customers ask about them.
How I manage (managers only): Our 1:1 is your meeting: you set the agenda, I'll bring one thing. You can refund up to the agreed limit, change your own shift with a swap partner, and reply to any complaint without checking with me. Escalate anything that might reach social media or legal, straight away, by phone. I give feedback in the moment for small things and in our 1:1 for anything bigger. I'll ask what you think before I tell you what I think.
Be specific, not generic
| Too vague | Useful |
|---|---|
| "I value communication." | "Chat for quick things, a call if a customer is affected. I reply in batches at 10, 1 and 4." |
| "I like feedback." | "Tell me the same day, in private. I'd rather hear it rough than wait for it to be polished." |
| "I'm a hard worker." | "When I'm overloaded my messages get shorter. If you see that, ask what you can take off me." |
Manager README template
A manager README is a user manual with one more section: how you manage. It matters more for managers because your team has to guess less about everyone else than about you. Add these to the template above:
| Question | Why it matters | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
| How do I run 1:1s? | Sets who owns the agenda and what the time is for. | "Weekly, 30 minutes. Your agenda first; I bring one thing." |
| What can you decide without me? | The biggest source of bottlenecks and second-guessing. | "Refunds up to the agreed limit, your own shift swaps, any reply to a complaint." |
| How should you escalate? | People hesitate when the route isn't clear. | "Anything legal or public: phone me straight away, any time." |
| How do I give feedback? | So feedback doesn't feel like an ambush. | "Small things in the moment, bigger things in our 1:1. I'll ask your view first." |
| What do I expect from you? | Removes unwritten rules. | "Flag a slipping deadline as soon as you know, not on the day." |
| What am I working on as a manager? | Invites the team to help you improve. | "I jump in too early. If I start solving your problem, tell me." |
If the decision section is hard to write, that's a useful signal: work through the delegation matrix first.
How to run it as a team exercise
- Introduce it (5 minutes). In a team meeting or your 1:1s, explain why, and share yours first. Going first makes it safe.
- Everyone writes their own (20 minutes). On their own, on this page or on paper. Two or three sentences per section is enough.
- Share (3 to 5 minutes each). Each person reads out the parts they're happy to share. The rest of the team asks one question each. To warm up, use a Work Connections card first.
- Store them together. A shared folder, wiki page or team directory, where new joiners will find them in week one.
- Update every six months. Or when someone's situation changes. Working styles move.
The Team Conversation Deck
160 printed conversation cards in four sets of 40 (Icebreakers, Deeper Connections, Work Connections and Team Talk), plus two bonus tool cards: Team Health Check and My User Manual. For team meetings, 1:1s, onboarding and offsites. Over 3,000 sold, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
See the DeckMy User Manual is also a card in The Leader's Toolkit, next to 1-1s, Skills and Interests Matrix and Onboarding - Week One, the cards it works best with.
FAQs
What is a personal user manual?
A personal user manual is a one-page guide to how you work best: how to reach you, how you like feedback, when you do your best work and what to look out for when you're stretched. It saves teammates months of guessing.
What should I include in a personal user manual?
Six short sections: about me, how to reach me, how I work best, feedback and recognition, when I'm stretched, and what I want to learn. Managers add a seventh: how I manage. Keep each to two or three sentences.
What is a manager README?
A manager README is a personal user manual written by a manager for their team. It covers the same ground plus how you run 1:1s, which decisions the team can make without you, how to escalate and how you give feedback.
Is a user manual the same as a working-with-me document?
Yes. User manual, working-with-me guide, working style guide and README are different names for the same idea.
How do you run a user manual exercise with a team?
Have everyone write theirs on their own for about 20 minutes, then share in a team meeting at three to five minutes each. Ask one question about each one. Keep them where the team can find them and update them every six months.
Is this template free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and nothing is saved or sent: what you type stays in your browser until you copy, download or print it.