First time manager tip: Tips for 1 on 1 meetings
Read the following quick tips of 1-1 routines in order to either gain a few new ideas of how to run better 1:1s, or reinforce habits you’re actively practicing.
Ideas for 1-1 Questions
Practice an organized management style and increase the chances that your 1-1 conversations will consistently produce meaningful outcomes by using a standard set of questions:
What are you excited about right now?
This question enables your 1-1s to begin on a high and engaging note from the start, which can anchor the tone for the whole meeting in more bigger picture-thinking (where your value as a manager can help explore/create sustainable new opportunities), rather than the problems/complains/fires (where your value as a manager will be relentlessly drained, with little sustainable growth).
Listen intently to what your reports says in response to this question - this is not only a fun question, but can generate key insights that can inform your people development strategy.
What’s top of mind? Or – where’s your head at?
This is another good opener, or expansion question from the first question (what else is top of mind?). For any items your report seems stuck in, try hard to resist jumping into solving their problems or giving them the answer. Put your coach’s hat on and ask whether they would be open to coaching on how to navigate their challenges. Focus on helping them to identify their blockers, resources, options, and evaluating the best route forward. As a manager, the more you coach/counsel and the less you tell/advise, the more scalable your efforts will be and the stronger your team will be.
What’s one thing I can do to help you this week?
Read this prior leadership tips essay for more insight into the benefits of this question.
Are there any pressure points in or outside of work you want to put on my radar, even if there’s no solution here?
This question can be periodically asked in order to create space for the normal cycles of peoples’ lives and stress/productivity levels. We’re not robots, after all, and not every topic your report brings up needs to initiate solving mode. It also gives you a heads up to manage your expectations for someone who may need some more help/space, enabling you to proactively advise your peers/manager in turn about your team’s expectations; but be sure to respect the person’s honesty if they do raise challenges and use prudence when considering how to take in what they offer.
How do you feel about your professional development?
People development is best to explore on an ongoing basis, and not only in annual or quarterly reviews. Gather insights for your own planning purposes, put out feelers, or plant seeds where appropriate, but at the same time, save the heavy lifting and official decisions to the official check-ins.
Lastly, be sure to leave time for open floor/questions from the person.
Tips for 1-1 Routines
Here are a few other tips that can help your 1-1s run to smoothly:
Check in on any action items from last time
This lends the ritual of your 1-1s an accountability structure and ensures that they are valuable use of both of your time.
Share an agenda before the day-of, and create a shared notes document shared with the person
You can save time by recording the session and using a tool to transcript notes from it
Keep 1-1s at a consistent time (ideally 60 minutes bi-weekly so there’s enough time to go deep) that’s respectful of regular commitments
Don’t schedule the 1-1 before a big client call or other stressful meeting, after a meeting that tends to run long, or outside of the person’s (or your) optimal work times, so you can both show up at your best and make the time worthwhile.
Don’t skip the 1-1 or show up late! If need be, reschedule it or send a heads up before the call happens (not 5 minutes before)
1-1s can be one of the easiest meetings to skip or be late to, but this is slippery slope that undermines the value of this meeting, when 1-1s are one of the most consequential connections with your reports.
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