1:1’s or 1-2-1 whatever we call this, these meetings are one of the powerful tools for every manager in an organization. Most of the times one on one started but never continues, that actually waste our time during beginning. These are the types of meetings those need continuations, review and better version of previous 1-1 template. If as a manager you are not getting any value from your 1-1’s and you are no more passionate about the results, then that is your problem, you need to re-visit the fundamentals and improvise your method of doing this.
If as an employee, you feel relaxed when ‘1-1’ is cancelled or postponed then I am sorry to say this but “you are missing a major opportunity to discover yourself”. Good 1:1 meeting leads to the impact on team’s productivity, morale and engagement. Frequency for such meetings should be quarterly if possible, if not you can set as your requirement and your nature of work. These meetings are the opportunity to build the relationship with managers and to discuss the issues to achieve your goal.
I will focus here on certain tips for scheduling effective one on one meetings. First thing is defining the timeline, per person how much time you will be spending. Make sure you are prepared with proper agenda for meeting. For example, how much you want to talk about the different topics. You can cover these agendas or criteria for discussion.
- Project Updates
- Goals
- Obstacles
- Opportunities
- Initiative and Decision making
- Accountability
- Recognition
- Quality of Work
- Self-Management
- Communication
- Leadership
- Knowledge Sharing
- Taking ownership of a mistakes etc ..
How to start the session? You don’t have to directly jump into the agendas, instead start talking casually. Comfort them first by having casual talk, you can start with knowing the details of their routine or about their life or anything that feels right at the moment. For instance, you can ask ‘What is the recent movie you watched?’ then leap into the next project / work update followed by the challenges and any obstacle they are facing. Everyone should have the goals either short term or long term golas – know their goal for life and goal for running quarter or 6-months goal. What they want to learn, in which areas individual is more bowed. Are they comfortable with current team? How is their relationship. And what are the challenges they have been facing.
Managers may not want to share every detail of these meetings with employees so employee themselves can take their notes as a takeaway after 1:1 meeting. You can create your own template for the format or review process after 1:1. As I already said one on ones only work when they are held regularly and consistently. By Keeping this commitment anyone can create a cadence of feedback and a culture of accountability in their workplace.
