Workshops are ideal environments for getting to know each other better, to promote team bonding and trust-building.

A personal user manual helps you map out the ways people can help you do your best work. Fill in the simple framework to help others understand your motivations, working style, values and strengths, as well as informing them how they can best support you.

Then, share what you have written with others in your team. Use the exercise as a basis for a progressive discussion where you offer your strengths, values and aspirations, and open up about where you need help.

The User Manual exercise is also a practical way to build psychological safety – the shared belief that it’s safe to take interpersonal risks within the team. 

By voluntarily sharing how you prefer to work, how you like to be supported, and where you may struggle, you create an environment where others feel more comfortable doing the same. It models openness without pressure.