Role Overview

Managers connect the strategy set by leadership with the day-to-day work of their teams. In Sizemotion, your manager account unlocks the ability to run reviews for direct reports, hold or review one-on-ones, track career progress, and support team health across multiple squads.

Key responsibilities

  • Coach direct reports during reviews, feedback, and 1:1s
  • Translate OKRs into team goals and monitor progress
  • Monitor team health dashboards and follow up on concerns
  • Approve promotions, role changes, and development moves
  • Keep HR and Account Admins informed when escalations arise

Manager permissions

  • View direct reports' feedback and review drafts
  • Schedule, edit, and comment on one-on-ones
  • Approve time-off, review goals, and request review cycle feedback
  • Export direct report data for your own team
  • Cannot edit account-wide settings or deactivate other managers

Getting Started

  1. Verify your manager status with HR or Account Admin
  2. Complete your employee profile (manager and career ladder fields)
  3. Set preferred 1:1 cadence (weekly/bi-weekly) in your calendar
  4. Review your team's current goals and review cycle schedule
  5. Bookmark 1:1 documentation for templates

Reviews & Feedback

Performance reviews, review cycle campaigns, and ad-hoc feedback all flow through you. Stay ahead of deadlines with consistent check-ins.

Running a review

  • Navigate to Performance → Reviews
  • Open each direct report's review and fill out the manager section
  • Use the writing assistant to get phrasing suggestions (AI feature)
  • Leave feedback in structured sections (Achievements, Growth, Goals)
  • Submit on time so Calibration can review responses

Collecting review cycle feedback

  • Request reviewers from cross-functional partners via campaign settings
  • Check anonymized summaries before reviewing with your report
  • Use insights to spot patterns (bias, tone, frequency)

Feedback best practices

  • Balance praise + opportunities for growth
  • Link feedback to goals or competencies for clarity
  • Document action items directly in the review or 1:1 notes

One-on-One Cadence

1:1s are your most powerful tool to build trust, unblock problems, and co-create development plans.

Before each meeting

  • Review the previous agenda and follow-up items
  • Ask your direct report to add topics to the shared agenda
  • Pull relevant data (Goals, feedback, absence trends) from Ui

Meeting structure (30 minutes)

  1. Check-in (mood, blockers)
  2. Review wins + challenges
  3. Discuss goals, career aspirations, and learnings
  4. Agree on action items and responsibilities

After the meeting

  • Log notes in Sizemotion so HR and the employee can refer back
  • Assign follow-ups to yourself or your direct report
  • Update progress toward review goals, especially for in-progress behaviors

Goals & OKRs

Link your team's daily work to account-level OKRs and keep progress visible.

Setting team goals

  • Start from account-level objectives and cascade them down
  • Create key results that are measurable (timelines, metrics)
  • Tag goals to projects or Jira issues (if connected)
  • Review goals weekly in 1:1s to keep momentum

Tracking progress

  • Use the OKR dashboard to view completion % for each key result
  • Request updates from your executives or cross-team leads
  • Highlight risks early so the team can re-prioritize

Team Health

Managers own team health. Use dashboards to monitor engagement, burnout, and workload balance.

  • Check the Team Health Radar for morale, clarity, and support scores
  • Address dips quickly by following up in 1:1s or triage meetings
  • Share trends with department heads and HR for additional support
  • Document interventions (e.g., coaching, career conversations) in Sizemotion

Insights & AI

Leverage Sizemotion's AI features to stay strategic.

  • Writing Assistant: Draft better feedback and summary statements
  • Bias Detection: Identify and neutralize biased language
  • Manager Insights: See aggregated data for your team (feedback volume, moods, career readiness)
  • AI Manager Report: Generate templates that summarize team health for leadership

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Low engagement flag

  1. Receive alert via Radar or AI insights
  2. Schedule ad-hoc 1:1s to understand the concern
  3. Document findings in the platform and propose a plan
  4. Partner with HR if coaching or a new role is needed

Scenario 2: Promotion conversation

  1. Review the employee's career ladder and recent reviews
  2. Collect supporting feedback from peers and leaders (review cycles)
  3. Discuss readiness in a dedicated 1:1 and document action items
  4. Submit promotion recommendation through Sizemotion and notify HR

Scenario 3: Sprint review

  1. Align sprint goals with OKRs in Sizemotion
  2. Track completion status in the Performance tab
  3. Use retrospective templates to capture wins/risks

Quick Reference

Action Location Notes
Start a review Performance → Reviews AI assistant helps with phrasing
Log a 1:1 Meetings → 1:1s Attach agenda + next steps
Check goals Goals → OKRs Link to Jira or GitHub issues
Assess team health Analytics → Team Radar Share with HR if score drops

Related Guides

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