What is Manual of Me?
There's no such thing as an average human.
We all have different and diverse needs, preferences, desires, interests and ways of working - and modern work has never more needed better ways to explore, communicate and support people working in different ways, together.
A Manual of Me is a simple but powerful concept to explore and communicate to others what you need to do your best work, what you bring a project, how you need support, how you work - and what needs to be true for you to thrive.
At it's heart - it's a simple document which includes an individual's preferences and working styles.
But beyond that, it's a powerful way to create space, time and support for people to share their differences, create inclusion and connection - and most critically, build stronger and more human relationships with each other.
Over 70,000 Manual of Me have been created on our platform, and more than 4000 organisations are using our tools to help make work more human.
We've traced the idea of a 'personal user manual' back to the early 2000s in this article by Ben Dattner, and if you have a google, you'll find lots of examples of people who are creating their own - many referencing Cassie Robinson's blogpost from 2017.
But having an empty piece of paper can be daunting, and big statements like "What motivates you?" or "Where do you do your best work?" don't always have an easy to reach answer.
If you've been fortunate enough to have coaching, you might already have the answers - but most people have not. That's why we built Manual of Me - to both help you choose what you want to communicate, but also support you in finding the answers.
Manual of Me is both a tool to create, write and share your manual, but also includes exercises and activities to help you discover your answers - the really important part.
This substack will be sharing questions, stories, examples and resources for individuals and team leaders to help create their own Manual of Me.
I’m Matthew Knight, and I’ve helped countless teams create their Manuals - and I’m looking forward to working with you too.
Matthew