When I started leading teams I was incredibly apathetic to 1:1s (or Catch ups as other people call them). In fact, I thought they were a waste of time. I would ask the team member ‘How’s it going?’ and perhaps talk about some ‘Work In Progress’ that I’m interested in. Little did I know that the way I was running 1:1s was what made it a waste of time.
However, as I grew in my People and Technical leadership over the years I have found 1:1s to be one of the most effective tools for me to:
- Gauge the ‘State of Mind’ of an individual
- Find Personal and Professional development opportunities
- Assess Team Happiness
- Remove impediments to an Individuals’ best work
- Provide constructive feedback
In fact, it has become one of my favourite meetings of the week (No joke!). There’s something about having a connected conversation with an individual about their personal development that excites me. Perhaps it’s the fact that there is 1 hour blocked in my calendar where I don’t have to worry about all the other arduous meetings, status updates where I will get smashed or tough conversations with stakeholders . Nonetheless, it’s certainly one of the conversations I look forward to.
In this post I will talk about my opinion (and mine only) about running effective 1:1 meetings. You may not be able to apply every single principle in this post. However, If you nail just a couple of these I’m sure you will have more enjoyable and effective catch ups with your direct reports.
Schedule a 1:1 Once a Month (at Minimum)
Ideally you will be having 1:1s with your direct reports every 2 weeks. However, I have seen monthly catch ups work too, in which case you should be scheduling at least 1 hour considering the team member has waited so long to have a direct conversation with you.
It does not matter how often your interact with the individual day-to-day, you need to reserve some time for your team to show you care about their health, happiness and personal+professional development.
Preferably a 1:1 is scheduled same day and time every time. However, if your calendar is unpredictable then I would suggest keeping a reminder to set up the 1:1 on a regular basis.
Try NOT to reschedule
There’s one thing you are telling your direct report when you reschedule a 1:1, And that it is the fact your direct report is not priority. Understandably there are circumstances which you can’t avoid. For example, a meeting has popped up that needs a timely and critical decision. If such a case does arise, advise the employee beforehand.
If you do have to reschedule, ask your report if there is anything urgent they want to chat about. If so make sure to schedule time as soon as possible.
Be Prepared
Be Prepared — That goes for the Manager and the team member. Both parties should ensure they have an agenda of topics to talk about in the 1:1. I use a private confluence page myself to capture Agenda items before our catch ups. I have found it incredibly useful when there is a gnarly situation or issue to deal with that I’m prepared before the conversation.
You also want to ensure your direct report has a heads up on issues you would like to address. The worst 1:1s I had occurred because I did not give the individual a heads up on criticism or issues related to the direct report. People are surprised and the initial and natural reaction comes out.
If you (the Manager) have feedback ensure you have enough information to make for a constructive conversation. Do not be fuzzy and airy fairy. Make sure you have tangible examples so the individual understands the grandiosity and/or seriousness of the issue. This goes for both praise and criticism. We often forget that we also want to enforce the right behaviours.
Start with ‘How are you?’
Might sound simple, however, a 1:1 is an ideal time to understand the state of mind that the team member is in. This is important — because a Happy and Challenged Employee is a productive employee. Usually the first thing an employee says tells me what’s top of mind. And if it sounds concerning I will try to delve deeper with a couple of probing questions.
Particularly look out for cues that give a deeper insight into the team members state. The person may say they are ‘Okay’ , however, body language and tone goes a long way. They say 80% of communication comes from everything but the words you say.
How’s the team?
Although this is a one to one conversation, I find the catch ups a great opportunity to get a perspective on the health of the team. So I ask ‘How’s the team?’ and wait to see their reaction. Usually an individuals’ body language and tone of voice tells me more about whats’ going than the words they say.
I have people on the team who have a pulse on what’s going on. They are my Litmus test as to whether our team is in trouble. Most importantly they do not know they are ‘my’ litmus test. These are the people who don’t freak out about everything, but raise concerns at the right time.
Avoid WIP (Unless you absolutely have to!)
This is not time to get status updates about your favourite projects. Managers can easily get this information from JIRA, Confluence, Sprint reviews, Retros etc etc. I bet there are so many existing forums where you can retrieve this information.
However, there will be times where your direct report will want to talk about WIP. I have found this to happen when they are particularly proud of what he/she has achieved. Or there are significant risks or issues with the project at hand that the direct report is unhappy with. If this is the case let the individual talk about it as they are probably passionate about the subject.
Otherwise you should be discouraging WIP as much as possible.
Listen
This is your team members’ time. NOT Your (the manager) time to vent and rant. As such I let the team member run the 1:1. There will be times that you have line reports that are apathetic to 1:1s. In such cases you may have to be more pro-active with topics of discussion.
Nonetheless, it is your job to Listen first and foremost. I have found many managers interject with their own concerns and issues leaving little time for the team member’s worries and problems and forget about the person in front of them. The people on your team don’t need to hear your problems (that’s your managers’ job J). You are there to help the direct report.
This is particularly true when the said employee is frustrated or unhappy. Too many managers try to resolve the issue immediately. But really all the individual wants to do is vent and rant. And that may just be enough. Tough situations and people issues need to be thought thoroughly. As such I recommend to Listen and Think before suggesting any drastic measures. There is much more to this which I will probably leave for another post.
Goals and KPIs
Manager should always provide continuous feedback on the direct report is tracking towards their Business Performance goals and Personal Development goals. This is important to ensuring that the direct report is not surprised when it comes to Performance review time.
I review Performance goals as regularly as possible. My benchmark is quarterly. I also like to keep the Performance goals on the same page where we document our 1:1s so it is top of mind when we are having discussions.
I personally like to use OKRs to create development plans. And by personal development I’m talking about growth opportunities. This could be training, conferences, exposure to different projects and career development goals.
I try my hardest to ensure that the employee is driving the development conversation because the individual is accountable for their own growth. However, you may need to be hands on with Junior employees.
Capture actions and outcomes
After every 1:1 make sure to capture actions and next steps on any outstanding items. This is important to ensure that nothing gets missed. There’s one thing about having the conversation, but missing out on actions that could improve the individual is a missed opportunity for productivity and development.
Make sure to review the actions in the next 1:1. And ensure to keep a track of outstanding items.
Keep it fluid
Although I have given many pointers to structure your 1:1s with direct reports I would suggest you adopt a style that works for you and your team members. Personally I have a different style of catch up with every single person of the team. For one individual it is a casual coffee chat in the cafe down the road , and another may be a meeting room setting with a structured Agenda. I have found the former to work with those who are probably doing the best work in the team but do not have the desire to get promoted. However, they are also the most important people to keep happy. You need to check on them to ensure they don’t become a flight risk. The coffee chat can also work in situations where you have to talk about something deeply personal. Nonetheless, you should use your discretion when it is the right time for a casual setting vs a formal setting.
If you are new to management I would suggest very structured 1:1s until you reach a level of maturity where you can still reach the same outcomes with a conversational style of catch up. This will only come through experience.
In Summary a 1:1 should look something like the following:
- Get a read on ‘State of Mind’ of the Direct Report and the Team
- Review actions and outcomes from the previous 1:1
- Address the Direct reports’ Agenda
- Constructive Feedback, Development opportunities and Review Goals/KPIs
- Outcomes and actions for next 1:1
- Retro and Iterate
1:1s are on of the most effective methods for a Manager to remediate issues for an individual and find development opportunities. It’s also great opportunity for you (The manager) to get a pulse on the team and provide constructive feedback.
Remember — One Happy employee means one less bad seed that can ruin the Culture that you have worked so hard to develop.
