Seeking Advice on Weekly Update Format for My Manager
Hi Taro Community,
During my recent 1:1 with my manager, we discussed the idea of me sending weekly updates about my work, and he was in favor of it. I want to ensure that these updates are concise, informative, and structured in a way that facilitates clear communication and showcases my progress effectively.
Could anyone share formats or templates they’ve successfully used for similar weekly updates to their managers? Any tips on what to include and what to avoid would also be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your insights!
Discussion
(8 comments)- 1
2 months agoTeam Lead (people manager) at MistplayAs you say being concise is key. So maybe just 3 or 4 bullet points per week that highlight current wins, fails, risks, and blockers? Or if you want to expand more those could be section headers and you can write N/A under some and expand more on others as needed. One about feedback you’re iterating on could be a nice touch too, especially if it’s from them
- 2
2 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroAs Ryan mentioned, a list of bullet points is fine. Here's my very made up example:
- Met with Jane to understand our Typhoon API suite
- Shipped a fix for Ticket #9052 (auth endpoint returning 404 sometimes)
- Ramping up with Bill about Project Phoenix, and I should be ready to start coding on it next week
A trick I use to keep communication concise is to use pointers. The idea is that your top-level communication (e.g. the update) is very short, but it can link to longer-form resources like tickets, announcement posts, and system design docs in case the reader wants to dive deeper into your accomplishments. So in my "Ticket #9052" example, you could just hyper-link that to the actual ticket in case your manager wants to better understand the impact of that task.
More advice here: "How to make communication succinct and more impactful?"
- 02 months agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Microsoft
Hi Alex,
Thank you for your insights on creating a weekly update template.
Would it be also beneficial to include sections on ‘Challenges Encountered’, ‘Key Learnings’, and ‘Next Week’s Focus’ within the template?
I value your opinion on whether these additions would enhance the effectiveness of the updates.
- 12 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
Would it be also beneficial to include sections on ‘Challenges Encountered’, ‘Key Learnings’, and ‘Next Week’s Focus’ within the template?
These all make sense to me. In general, it's good to start off with more and then you can cull it down after you get feedback from your manager on which parts they find useful and which parts they don't.
- 0a month agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Microsoft
As I navigate my tasks and projects, I often find myself seeking guidance and support from various colleagues. This collaborative approach has been instrumental in my learning and progress. My question revolves around the best practices for weekly updates to my manager: Should I explicitly mention the assistance I receive from others in these updates?
- 1a month agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
Yes, yes, yes! It gives them credit and it lets your manager know that you are socializing among the team and getting to know peers.
- 1a month agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Microsoft
Hi Alex,
In my previous role, there was a perception that seeking assistance implied a lack of independence, which led to some challenging experiences for me. As a result, I’m somewhat apprehensive about how my current team might interpret my requests for help. I don’t want them to have the impression that I’m not capable of working independently. How can I communicate the collaborative nature of my work without it being misconstrued as a dependency?
I value your advice on how to navigate this situation, as I want to foster a positive working relationship with my new team
- 0a month agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
My advice here is to ask high quality questions. We talk about this in our new onboarding course: https://www.jointaro.com/course/the-complete-onboarding-guide-for-software-engineers-succeeding-when-youre-new/ask-questions-well/
It's true that if you ask low quality questions, it's worse than not asking any questions at all. As you mentioned, it implies a lack of independence (and this is really important for your level).
Thanking people is another important lever: https://www.jointaro.com/course/the-complete-onboarding-guide-for-software-engineers-succeeding-when-youre-new/thank-people-a-lot/
