A personal user manual is a short document where you describe how you work best, in your own words. It covers how you like to communicate, how you prefer feedback, when you do your best work, and the things people often get wrong about you. When everyone on a team has one, colleagues stop guessing and start working with each other on purpose.
The idea was popularised by Adam Bryant in a 2014 New York Times piece on leaders sharing a user manual of themselves. It has since spread well beyond the boardroom, because the same problem shows up in every team: how each person works best is rarely written down, so a lot of useful information stays in people's heads.
What goes in a personal user manual
Keep it short. A manual no one reads helps no one. Most useful manuals cover a handful of practical areas, in plain words rather than corporate language:
- How I prefer to communicate, and which channel for what.
- How I like to receive feedback, and how often.
- When I do my best work, and the conditions that help.
- What drains me, and what I find hard.
- Things people often get wrong about me.
- How to get the best from me in a crunch.
Honesty matters more than polish. The point is to give a colleague something they can act on today, not a personal brand statement.
A simple template you can use today
If you want to draft yours in under an hour, write one or two short sentences under each of these headings, then read it back and cut anything that does not help a colleague work with you better.
- How I work best: the conditions and times when I am at my sharpest.
- How to reach me: which channel for quick things, deeper things, and urgent things.
- Feedback: how I like to receive it, how direct to be, and how soon.
- Meetings: what helps me contribute, and what gets in the way.
- What I struggle with: the honest version, and what helps.
- Misreadings: the assumptions people make about me that are not quite right.
Why a team is the unit that matters
One person's manual is useful. A whole team's manuals together is where the real shift happens. When everyone can see how everyone else works, new starters settle in faster, handovers stop dropping things between people, and the small frictions that come from working past each other start to fade.
It also changes the conversation. Instead of one person being the awkward exception, working differences become a normal part of how the team operates. That matters most for neurodivergent colleagues, who often spend a lot of energy explaining themselves. A shared set of manuals takes that weight off any one person.
How to use manuals in real work
A manual sitting in a shared drive does not change much. The value comes from the small moments where it is actually used. A few habits make the difference:
- New starters read the team's manuals in their first week, and share their own draft by week two.
- Handovers reference the leaving person's manual, so the receiver knows how to pick the work up cleanly.
- One-to-ones open with a quick check against the manual: is this still how you work best.
- When two people are working past each other, the manuals are the first place to look, not the last.
Personal user manual or personality test
A personality test is scored about you by someone else, often in language you would not use yourself. A personal user manual is your own honest account, written by you. That difference is why people trust it and actually use it in day-to-day work. It is descriptive, not diagnostic.
How to get a team set up
You can start one person at a time, but the bigger shift comes when a whole team writes their manuals together and agrees how to use them. That is what the Working With Me workshop is built for: in a single day your team drafts their manuals and leaves with a shared way of working, plus platform access so the manuals stay live as people join and roles change. If you want to read more on the underlying idea first, see what a working with me manual is and managing a neurodivergent team in practice.
Common questions
What is a personal user manual
A short document where you describe how you work best, in your own words. It covers communication, feedback, when you do your best work, and what people often get wrong about you.
How long should a personal user manual be
Short enough that a colleague will actually read it. One page is plenty for most people. If it runs longer, cut anything that does not help someone work with you better.
How long does it take to write one
Most people draft theirs in under an hour using a simple template. A team usually builds them together in a single session, which is faster and more useful than doing it alone.
How does a team use personal user manuals together
Everyone reads everyone else's, and the manuals get used in handovers, one-to-ones, and onboarding. New starters settle faster and colleagues stop working past each other.
Do personal user manuals help neurodivergent colleagues
Yes. When the whole team shares how they work best, neurodivergent colleagues are not the only ones being asked to explain themselves, and useful adjustments become part of normal working life.
Is a personal user manual the same as a personality test
No. A test is scored about you by someone else. A personal user manual is your own account, written by you, which is why people trust and use it.