Manager Guide
As a Manager, you own and execute strategic initiatives. You manage your team of ICs, track their contributions, and award points as work progresses.
Your Key Responsibilities
1. Own Initiatives
When an Admin assigns you as Owner of an initiative, you become responsible for its execution. This means:
- Understanding the initiative's goals and success criteria
- Breaking the work down among your contributors
- Tracking progress and communicating with your team
- Dispensing points at checkpoints and at completion
2. Add Contributors
For each initiative you own, you'll add ICs as contributors and set their allocation percentages. Allocations determine what share of the total points each contributor is eligible for.
3. Participate in Calibration
When your Admin creates a calibration session, you'll be asked to vote on point values for initiatives. Here's what to know:
- You vote using Planning Poker values (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89)
- If you're the initiative's Owner, your vote carries 3x weight in the calculation
- Add a confidence level and optional rationale to your vote
- After all votes are in, the Admin finalizes the calibrated point value
Check your dashboard for a "Calibration Sessions Awaiting Your Vote" prompt when sessions are open.
4. Dispense Points at Checkpoints
Instead of waiting until an initiative is fully complete, you can award partial points at checkpoints as work progresses.
- Meet with your ICs — review progress in standups, 1:1s, or team meetings (this happens outside G4mify).
- Open the initiative detail page — find it in your initiatives list.
- Click "Dispense Points" — enter the amount to award each contributor based on their progress.
- Track the point pool — the progress bar shows total, awarded, and remaining points.
5. Complete Initiatives
When an initiative is done, you'll complete it through the "Complete Initiative" dialog:
- Distribute remaining points — any un-dispensed points are distributed to contributors
- Award bonus (optional) — up to 50% of the calibrated total as bonus for exceptional work
- Forfeit remaining (optional) — if the initiative underdelivered, you can forfeit undispensed points
- Add notes — document what was accomplished
Navigation
Your manager navigation includes:
- Dashboard — your initiatives, action items, upcoming checkpoints
- My Initiatives — initiatives you own, with search and filtering
- Calibration — vote on point values in open sessions
- Team — your team members and their contributions
- Leaderboard — organization-wide rankings
- Settings — your account preferences
Tips for Success
- Dispense points regularly at checkpoints rather than saving everything for the end
- Use the point pool progress bar to track how much of the initiative's value has been awarded
- Communicate with your ICs about progress outside G4mify — the platform tracks outcomes, not daily activity
- Vote thoughtfully in calibration — your Owner vote carries extra weight for initiatives you own