Karl Bimshas Consulting

MANAGE BETTER LEAD WELL

  • Welcome
    • About Us
    • Karl Bimshas
      • Leadership Point of View
      • Bio
    • FAQs
    • Testimonials
      • Interviews
    • Why Value-Based Fixed Fees
    • Statement of Privacy
  • Leadership Development
    • Strategic Leadership
    • Leadership Scorecard
    • Optimize Your Leadership
    • Leadership Assessments
      • Core Competencies Index
      • DISC
      • DISC Lite
    • Accountability
      • Kick-Ass Boss
  • Leadership Drift Assessment
    • Leadership Vibe Check
  • Books
    • Bimshas Books
      • How to Stay When You Want to Quit
      • Welcome to Leadership
      • GIVE A DAMN!
      • Disposable Journal
      • Disposable Journal: Weekend Edition
      • Pushing Back the Ocean
      • 132 Leadership Tips
    • Leadership Workbooks
      • Perspectives
      • Lead on Purpose
      • Sales Management Monthly Briefing
      • Mind Map Workbook
    • The Manage Better Lead Well Series
    • ESSAYS ON
  • Contact
    • Friends Don’t Let Friends Become Lousy Leaders
    • Payment Page
  • Newsletter
    • Sign up!
      • Update Your Information
      • Links
        • More Links
          • Your 90-Day Review
          • Monthly Offer
      • Surveys
        • Do My Employees Need Coaching?
      • Invitation
        • INFO AND INVITATION
    • Your Opinion
      • Leadership Innovation Council
      • Market Research
      • WORKSHOPS SURVEY
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Podcast
      • Past Episodes
        • Leadership In Unusual Times
          • Podcast Questions
    • AHA Deck of Cards
      • Shipping
    • The Pro-Democracy Leadership Guide: 
    • CONNECT. ENGAGE. ACT.
    • Lyderis
      • Leadership Library
        • Invitation to The Leadership Library
    • Mini-Courses
      • Explain That Behavior
      • Lead On Purpose Course
    • Your Path to Effective Leadership: WORKSHEET
    • Ways to Praise
    • Leadership Development Box
    • Leadership Goal-Setting
    • Be The Kind of Leader Who Gives a CRAP
    • The Solution Exchange
    • Compass
  • EVENTS

You Don’t Come with a User’s Guide, So Write One

December 9, 2013 Karl Bimshas

You might think you’re a dream to work with. After all, you’re in your head all day, so you know your intentions and beliefs and I’m sure they’re all sound and honorable. The problem is, no one else is in there with you. Even your closest allies, those who know you inside and out are sideswiped by your actions sometimes. 

Why? 

Because you’re not nearly as clear as you think you are. You didn’t come with a user’s guide, so you’re kind of hard to figure out. 

What if you changed that? What if you sat down individually with the people who are important to you and you gave them a cheat sheet into your work style? 

I challenge you to create a one-page user’s guide that would give the people who work with you a fighting chance of getting it right. 

It might include things like; what you value, your self acknowledged strengths and weaknesses, and if you’re being honest, your idiosyncrasies. Maybe include how you make decisions, or how people should fess up to you if they make a mistake. Documenting your expectations takes away ambiguity and whim; two things leaders should travel without. 

Highlight topics that give the people you work with insight into you. It’s not a resume or a brag sheet. It’s a page of instructions and clues to help ensure better results. Truthfully, it’s less about the guide and more about the conversations you have around the guide … but build a guide anyway, it will improve your self-awareness and raise the caliber of conversation you have with others.

 

Uncategorized Communication, expectations

Search Here

Key Links

  • Do I Need an Accountability Partner?
  • Do My Employees Need Coaching?
  • Leadership Point of View
  • Kick-Ass Boss
  • Bimshas Books
  • Blog
  • DISC
  • Resources
  • Why Value-Based Fixed Fees
  • User’s Guide

EVENTS

SparkLab Summit September 13, 2025

PODCAST

RSS The Podcast

  • 392. Do You Recognize Them?
  • 391. The Kind Modern Leader
  • 390. Sometimes, Leaders Forget to Prepare for Their Success
  • 389. Building Accountability into Leadership
  • 388. Practice Leadership on the S.I.D.E.
  • 387. How Do I Start to Lead?
  • 386. Weak Leaders Fear Empathy; Strong Leaders Use It

Latest Books on Amazon

Popular Products

  • DISC
  • Disposable Journal: Weekend Edition
  • How to Stay When You Want to Quit
  • Leadership Scorecard

Recent Posts

  • Evaluating Leadership Using the Karl Bimshas Consulting Leadership Scorecard
  • No More Drifting
  • Are You Experiencing Leadership Drift?
  • 16 Years of Aha
  • The Values Grid: Unlocking Purposeful Leadership Through Reflection

© 2025 Karl Bimshas Consulting

Contact

Karl Bimshas Consulting
2150 Comstock Street #710192
San Diego, CA 92111

info@KarlBimshasConsulting.com

Where to Start

  • 1. Browse the Resources Page
  • 2. Assess Your Leadership Attributes
  • 3. Do You Need an Accountability Partner?
  • 4. Act on Purpose – Leadership Goal-Setting

Copyright © 2025 · Equilibre on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in