Stage 5 of 8 · 7 lessons · ~2 weeks
Communication and visibility
Keep your manager and team informed without being asked, raise problems early, make one-on-ones useful, ask for feedback and keep a record of your work from the start.
Start: Short weekly status updatesLessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order
Do this
- Send a five-line update to your manager at the same time every week.
- Raise any risk to a date the day you see it, with what you tried and what would help.
- Keep a shared one-on-one document and bring four agenda items each time.
- Start a work log and add at least one entry with evidence every week.
- Ask one specific feedback question each week, of your manager or a peer.
- Say when you will deliver each task, and update people as soon as a date changes.
- Publicly thank one colleague a month for specific help.
Start with· follow one of these
- GuideFreeGet Your Work Recognized: Write a Brag Document
Julia Evans
Julia Evans on keeping a record of your work, with a template you can start this week
- GuideFreeThe Update, the Vent, and the Disaster
Michael Lopp
Michael Lopp on what one-on-ones are for and how to make them worth the time
Keep handy
Also worth your time
Before moving on: Four weekly updates sent, a shared one-on-one agenda document, a work log with at least six entries that each have evidence, and one piece of feedback you asked for and acted on.
Your manager is not watching your commits. Five lines every Friday, done, in progress, blocked, need, will do more for your first review than a month of late nights. And start the work log now. In twelve months you will not remember what you did in week six.