Having Verb is like having a trusted leadership coach on call. Bookmark the platform link so you can easily open Verb when you need support as a manager. Consider this article a quick Table of Contents for our Manager Support Playbook. While you're bookmarking, why not bookmark this page for easy reference? 

• Facing a leadership challenge? 
  • Search Verb for what you need
    
• Supporting Professional Development for Your Team Members?
  • Recommend Verb collections & track completion
    
• Building a team culture?
  • Discuss Verb collections with your team
    
• Growing as a Leader Yourself?
  • Put Verb “workouts” in your calendar
    
• Onboarding new team members?
  • Use a Verb pathway built for you

Facing a Leadership Challenge

You face a different challenge every day. It’s impossible to predict what leadership or learning tool you’ll need in advance - Verb can help.

How do I find what I need in Verb right now? 

When you find yourself facing a challenge like holding your first 1:1 meeting with a team member, receiving feedback from your manager, or instilling accountability on your team, you can use Verb’s Explore page for what you need.

Follow these steps to explore and begin learning:

• Log into Verb
• Click the magnifying glass in the top right corner to access the Explore page
• Enter a keyword that describes your need (Try a few: communicate, trust, 1/1, accountability, team, diversity)
• Select a Collection or Activity that looks helpful and begin learning
• Take 5 to 15 minutes to pause and fully experience the learning moment
• Use what you learn on the job!!

What are examples of how other managers have used Verb during tough moments?

(Hint: Make sure you're logged into your Verb account to open the links in this article!)

*****

“I am presenting to stakeholders tomorrow, and I want to make sure I nail it.” 

• Search: Presentation
• Collections: Pitch Your Ideas, Be More Persuasive, Storytelling
• Result: I used Pitch Your Ideas which helped me build my presentation, pare down the details, and begin with a compelling story. It was clearer and stronger than my first version – and I received positive feedback!

*****

“I need to give feedback to a direct report who is always late to every meeting.”

• Search: Feedback
• Collections: Formula for Feedback, Delivering Actionable Feedback
• Tool: Address a Problem
• Result: I was short on time so I used Formula for Feedback to give me a framework to use. Great reminders on behavior-based feedback! I also had my whole team do Welcoming Feedback to generate an open mind for feedback from each other to foster learning.

*****

“I’m completely stressed and overwhelmed – one breakdown away from burnout!“

• Search: Stress
• Collections: Rethinking Stress, To Manage Stress, Take Care of Yourself, Self Awareness, Develop Resilience
• Result: To Manage Stress, Take Care of Yourself spoke to me. I forced myself to take a rest break & move some deadlines. I was able to recenter myself on what’s most important. I’ll bookmark this one!

*****

“I have been avoiding a difficult conversation, but it’s happening. Today“

• Search: Conversation
• Collections: Build Your Work Relationships, Practice Empathy, Difficult Conversations (activity)
• Result: The Difficult Conversations activity reminded me to assume positive intent. I was able to collect my thoughts and use the activity as a tool to prepare me before heading into the conversation. I felt more centered and ready for dialogue.

*****

“I’m new to managing, not sure how to run a 1:1 …. “

• Search: 1/1
• Collections: All About 1:1s
• Tool: Five-Minute Prep for Your Next 1:1
• Result: All About 1:1s helped me feel much more prepared! Learning that 1:1s often take time to develop helped me take pressure off of myself. I bookmarked the 1:1 tool and am using it to help me find my flow with each of my team members.

Supporting Professional Development for Your Team Members

One of the most fulfilling parts of the manager job is helping people grow. Yet it can be overwhelming figuring out how to best support development goals and plans. Verb is here for you! As you prepare for your 1:1s and work with individual employees, use Verb Collections to support development.

During Performance Reviews:

1. Prepare yourself and your employee in advance using these Verb collections:

• Delivering Actionable Feedback
• Welcoming Feedback

• Plan With Goals
• Creating Accountability

Supporting An Employee’s Development Goals

1. With your employee, set a cadence for a monthly or quarterly development check-in.
2. During 1:1s prepare yourself to listen for their goals with these Verb collections:

• All About 1:1s
• Listen Like a Leader

• Plan With Goals
• Creating Accountability

• Use Verb’s EExplore page to search for content
• Ask your company’s Verb Admin for content suggestions

• Listen Skillfully
• Practice Empathy

Handling Performance Issues

1. If there’s a behavior or repeated issue that needs to be addressed, know your company specific procedures for communicating with your manager or HR.
2. Use Verb collections to prepare yourself for the conversation

• Delivering Actionable Feedback
• Welcoming Feedback

• Challenge People to Help Them Grow

Motivating & Rewarding Team Members

1. If your team members are doing Verb collections, encourage them to share their Verb progress during 1:1s with you.
   • Have your employees share their screen and look at completed activities together. Ask what their favorite activity has been and why? Look through the Explore page together to identify what's next.
2. Use your company’s messaging app as a place where you and your team can share actions & insights on Verb collections
   
   • Create a specific channel for Verb shoutouts and identify employees who have been putting effort into their development.
   • Encourage group dialogue over chat! Have a weekly discussion question you time to send at a specific time each week.
   • Send Verb links and reference guides wherever appropriate
3. Work with your Verb admin to set up a cadence of receiving completion information, so you can motivate and reward your team for completing Verb Collections and Activities.

Building a Team Culture

Verb is a great way to connect and grow your team. With Verb's support, you can build a team culture that supports a thriving workplace.

How do I choose Collections to work on with my team? 

• Consider company priorities. How does your team support them?
  • Example: This quarter, my support team's OKR is to improve our ticket response time by 10%. My team feels they don't have enough time in the day to do everything they need to do, and especially not to respond even faster than they already do. I searched "Time" on Verb's Explore page and found the Time Management 101 collection. We’re working on this collection as a team this quarter. The time matrix is helping us prioritize what is both urgent and important!
    
    
• Consider your priorities. What do you expect from the team?
  • Example: My team is always creating something, and I often sense friction in our calls. Someone has a good idea and wants it prioritized, but someone else doesn't like it and still wants to be heard. I expect my team to work in a collaborative manner and find excitement in creating together. As a team, we're going to work through Build Trust and Co-Creation together over the next few months! 
• Consider your team’s input. What do they want to learn? Ask them!
  • Example: In our last team meeting, I asked my team what they'd like to learn. I was excited that a number of my team members want to learn more about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging! This sparked a conversation on how we can learn together over the next year - we're starting this month with the Racism and Language collection.

Once you have a list of Collections you want to explore together, embed Verb into your team’s meeting cadence. For example, make the first meeting of the month Verb Vibes. During that meeting, allow time for the team to share learning from the Collection that was just completed, and choose/assign the next Collection.

How do I include my team and make them accountable for learning?

Consider these best practices when sharing learning experiences during team meetings:

• Lead by example. Support others in sharing what they've learned, and be ready to openly share about your experience with the content as well.
• Rotate the conversation facilitator role for each meeting.Allow adequate time for everyone to share, whether in full group or breakout groups. Creating breakouts can allow your team to find a depth of perspective in each other's experiences that they might not find as a full group.
• Use Verb’s Learning Circle Best Practices to ensure an inclusive listening & learning experience.

Hint: Consider incorporating the Listen Skillfully collection in your team's learning journey.

As the manager, be clear on the behavioral expectations based on the learning. What do you want to see the team doing more or less? Can you share examples of skills done well — or not? – What requests do you have for the team going forward? Check-in to make sure the understanding is clear.

• • How do I use Verb to encourage learning together? 

    • Recommending
      • You can recommend Verb collections to individual team members, as well as to your team. From a Collection page, click the "Recommend" button to open the Recommendation modal and select a team member. Personalize it with a note before sending!
        Hint: Any learner on Verb can recommend collections! Encourage your team to recommend collections to each other.
      • You can also provide recommendations directly from your Team page by clicking on the "Other Recommendations" tab and using the "+ Recommend" button.
        Hint: To recommend collections on the Team page, ask your Admin to make you a Team Lead.
        
        Check out how to recommend collections below
        
        
        
    • Reference Sheets
      • Most Verb collections have a Reference sheet that you can access on the Collection page by clicking the "References" tab. There you'll find a summary of all activities in the collection with key takeaways. For group discussions, print the reference sheet (physically or as a PDF) to share with your team members to refresh everyone's memory.
    
    
    
• Discussion Prompts
  • Similar to Reference pages, most Verb collections also have a Discussion Guide! Whether you're new to facilitating learning discussions, or a pro, having discussion prompts to move through can sometimes make all the difference in feeling prepared and confident in a facilitator's role. These prompts will also allow your team members to feel prepared to discuss the chosen Collection or Activity. You can find these prompts on the Collection page by clicking the Discussion Guide tab and download, bookmark, or share from there.

As you explore how to build a fruitful team culture, don't forget to check out Connect a Great Team for your own learning.

How to Grow Yourself as a Leader

It’s easy to focus on supporting your team members, but as a manager you are growing and developing too! 

How do I make Verb part of my own development routine?

Verb can help you put Verb “workouts” on your calendar to create a habit of learning. Choose a Pathway to follow or search for a relevant Collection in-the-moment. Here's how:

There’s so much great content on Verb. Where do I start?

We recommend our Rhythms of Management pathway for you. Whether you are brand new to managing or have some years of experience, this Pathway provides a solid foundation of management skills to bring to your team. Find Rhythms of Management in the Pathways menu on your Home page.

How fast should I learn?

Verb is not made for binging. It’s designed for continued practice and learning. Either choose a weekly date/time to invest 15 - 30 minutes in learning or set a quarterly roadmap for yourself (check out the Create a Roadmap activity in Plan With Goals), based on your growth priorities.

Onboarding New Team Members

Use Verb to onboard new team members.

Can I create a custom pathway for people onboarding into my team? 

Yes! If you’d like to create an onboarding Pathway with  Collections, Tasks, and Events, contact your company’s Verb Admin. They can support you in building a reusable Pathway, just for your team.

Consider what you'd like your new employees to get out of this experience. 

• Which values feel most important to your team? 
• Which Verb collections resonate with these values? 

When building your onboarding Pathway, your Admin can even attach documents that you'd like your new employees to read through. A Pathway can be as custom as you'd like it to be. Experiment and find what works for you.

Hint: Practice developing your experimental mindset in the Be An Experimenter collection.

How do I make an onboarding pathway most effective for a new team member?

When onboarding, consider asking your existing team members to:

• Take the new employee on a Verb tour.
• Meet 1:1 with the new employee to discuss Collections in your onboarding Pathway.
• Facilitate a team discussion about the onboarding Pathway and its importance to the team.

Additionally, be clear about the timeline associated with the Pathway, and have 1:1 discussions with your new team member about how this learning supports their role and your expectations. 

This is a great way to build a strong culture – and it gives your new team member access to a tool they can use themselves!