Tim Neilen    Now    Quotes

Manual of Me

The basics

I am the Service Delivery Manager at PKCG. My role encompasses many different things, but primarily I am accountable for making sure that both support and projects are run smoothly for our clients. The main method of achieving that is having a great technical team. This is why I am here, to build the greatest and best performing team.

Managing people at PKCG is only one part of my job, I still spend a lot of time “on the tools” and in the trenches. This means I heavily rely on everyone in the team to do a lot of self-management. That means setting your own direction when one isn’t given. Determining what needs to be done, and doing it, without waiting for me to tell you to. There’s always more work to be done, always more initiatives to kick off, always more improvement to be had.

What does working with me look like?

  • I trust you implicitly. If there is no reason to distrust you, I won’t double-check your work and expect that you are sure of what you have delivered. If this trust is broken, I might be a bit more cautious.
  • I like to discuss things, and to be kept informed. Don’t wait until your 1-1 to sync quick things or brainstorm for ideas. I will tell you if we should leave it to next 1-1.
  • My working hours vary. Even if I work a bit a lot outside of core hours, I do not expect that you work on weekends or off-hours, unless it is urgent. If you feel that you are forced or have to work outside core hours, let’s talk and find out the reason. If you do want to contribute more and want to work extra and at odd hours then feel free. I want to make sure you don’t burn out though.
  • I sometimes sound too forward or rude online, which is not intentional. I am rarely angry or intentionally rude to someone, and you know that if you’ve met me. Whenever I can steal a minute between meetings or other tasks, I might give feedback on something in Teams or email, but as I’m likely on the run, the message might not have enough emojis or words of empathy and can come off rude and demanding (eg. “Why have there been no updates on this ticket?”).
  • I highly value deadlines. If I tell you I’ll finish by a certain timeframe, I’ll try my best to live up to that. In return, I expect the same from others. If you are running late, that’s okay - but please tell me BEFORE you’re late. The earlier, the better.
  • I can quickly become over-committed. I am often overly generous with my time and say yes too often to things. If you see this happening, please flag it with me.
  • I enjoy building a strong connection with the people in my team. I know some people do not want to mix up their personal and work life, but for me, working at PKCG is a very big (and important) part of my life.

My expectations of you

  • Your continuous improvement is really important to me. As I am here to build the greatest and best performing team I want to see improvement daily, weekly, and monthly. I want to be able to support and enable you to achieve your greatness, so please come to me if that isn’t working out so I can help you brainstorm ways to acquire the hunger for learning.
  • Don’t expect me to take your monkey. I am more than willing to help out, help you find resources, priority, and ideas. But, at the same time I strongly believe that the decisions should be bottom-up.
  • I can help, but only if you ask me to. A top goal for me is to facilitate solving problems on your own by acting as a sounding board for you to figure out a path to success. If you want me to do something please explicitly ask. Statements like “There should be something done about X” won’t trigger me into action.
  • Tell me what I need to know, not what you think I want to hear. - Speak your mind freely with me – daily struggles, compensation, stress, technical issues, emotions, personal growth, ranting, venting, mental issues. I try to keep my topics-that-are-taboo list empty.
  • Own your mistakes. If you make a mistake or something is heading off the rails, tell me before the crash. Failure is great (as long as you learn quickly), surprises are not.

Feedback

I like feedback to be straight up, I don’t like when people beat around the bush with feedback. The more direct and focused the better. I try my best at a no ego approach and will not take it personally. I will often ask for more context (ie. a specific example or scenario) so I understand the feedback.

  • For positive feedback, any avenue is acceptable. Sharing positive feedback amongst the team helps spread that happy vibe to everyone!
  • For negative feedback, I prefer to keep this to 1:1 meetings. Sharing negative feedback publicly kinda bums people out in my opinion.
  • For recognition, see positive feedback notes.

Communication preferences

  • If you need me, Teams is your best bet… if it’s not going to be a quick response, I might give you a call / spin around to discuss in further detail.
  • If it’s urgent and you haven’t got a response via Teams, please call me.
  • If I have headphones on, send me a Teams message and ask if I am available/up for interruptions. Generally I will announce how long I will be in deep work mode in Teams first though.
  • Sometimes you may get a message from me on the weekends or in the late evening. I shared it with you because I just came up with an idea and don’t want to forget it.

A bit about me personally

When I’m not working, I can usually be found spending quality time with my wife and two kids, carving up canyons on my motorbike, cooking BBQ (low and slow), or enjoying a glass of whisk(e)y.

  • INTP / Di / Type 5. I’m very introspective, so if there’s a personality test you think I should do I’m all ears!
  • I read a lot. Books can be incredibly powerful. They have the ability to suck us in, take us on adventures, and influence the way we think. They can teach us, move us, give us new perspectives, and help shape us. And the most powerful ones change our lives forever. As George R. R. Martin wrote, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. A man who never reads lives only one.”
  • I have an extremely eclectic musical taste. From 2-step to Zydeco, I’ll give everything a listen and genuinely find a way to enjoy it too.
  • I’m an extremely curious person. I’m a lifelong learner, I ask a lot of questions, I’m not afraid to say “I don’t know” but I will always make the time to find out.
  • I journal. I’ve been writing a regular journal since mid-2018 to unload my fleeting thoughts and ideas and quiet the mind, albeit temporarily. The transfer of my thoughts onto paper is a symbolic release in and of itself.

Disclaimer

If I perceive myself differently than you do then this needs to change.. I’m open to any feedback you have.

Last updated 2021-05-24.