Former Google manager says he made a “work with” manual for colleagues

• Jerry Lee started his career at Google after graduating from Babson College.
• One of Lee’s managers taught him to make a “Working With” handbook to share with colleagues.
• Lee says having such a document helps reduce misunderstandings, especially for new loggers.

This essay as stated is based on a conversation with Jerry Lee29 years old, former manager at Google and co-founder of Wonsulting, a career consulting company. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider verified his education and employment history.

I first got the idea to make a “Working With” manual from an old supervisor I worked for when I joined Google.

My manager at the time told me that one of the biggest problems teams face is a clash of work styles between their members.

He suggested compiling a list of one’s work style and preferences to minimize such clashes. The list can then be shared with managers and peers to set the right expectations ahead of time.

I took his suggestion and decided to make my own “Working With” manual based on my manager’s copy.

At Google, there is an internal employee database where you can write a short description about yourself. I decided to put my “Working With” manual there so anyone can look it up when they’re looking for me inside.

Having a “Working With” manual is useful for both individual contributors and managers

Having a “Working with” manual is useful even as an individual contributor. It allows me to set the conditions for how I would like to operate.

The biggest sticking point I see teams face is that they just don’t know how to work with each other, especially when someone new comes on board.

Having such a document determines how you like to receive feedback, how you like to work and the type of communicator you are. It also helps reduce friction.

Understanding these things early on will help align expectations within a team from the start.

When I first shared my Working With manual with my colleagues at Google, I got two types of feedback.

The first type of feedback, which is significantly more frequent, is that people were grateful.

They would say, “Oh, wow, that’s really cool. I appreciate you being upfront about how you work.”

The second type of feedback – they just said thanks and didn’t read the manual.

Frankly, I have not received any criticism for distributing such a document. But I’d be surprised if that were to happen, as I’m just sharing how I like to operate in hopes that it will reduce friction.

Some people prefer to share their work styles more casually, like in a one-on-one introductory meeting. While this is the default way people communicate their work preferences, it only helps you understand people on a higher, broader level.

When it comes to actually working with them, I think people would appreciate knowing the details of their colleagues’ work styles.

I also shared this document on social media and received mixed responses. One group wants to use it on their own teams, and another group calls me a “tester” for doing this.

However, I would rather overcommunicate than undercommunicate.

Not every industry may welcome it, but having a “Working With” manual is still good for self-reflection

That said, I want to caution that having a “Working With” manual is still a general principle.

It may not apply universally to every corporate function or industry, particularly to more traditional industries such as those working in professional services.

You need to understand the culture and vibe of each industry, company or team before entering. If you work in a place that is collaborative and where people are open-minded, then this is definitely something you should consider doing.

I personally believe that having a “Working With” manual is a must for all leaders.

For someone who has just joined a team, talking to the new manager and superiors can be intimidating. Having these documents would help the leaders to humanize themselves a bit.

Additionally, creating a manual will help even if you don’t distribute it externally.

Putting it together is a great exercise in self-reflection for people to understand themselves and determine how they would create their ideal work environment.

If you’re creating your own “Working With” manual, keep it short and simple

When creating your Working With manual, the most important thing is to keep it to one page. You don’t want to give 16 pages to people and say, “Hey, read it.”

Instead, you want to make everything quick and simple so people can understand. For my textbook, I try to keep each bullet point to a maximum of two or three lines.

People can always ask me additional questions if there is something they don’t understand.

This is the ethos and principle behind such a document. You don’t have to share your entire life story, just what is most relevant to you.