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The digital era of work is in full force, and no one feels it more than team leaders.
What was once a “Hey, can you come into my office?” or “Meet me in the conference room” has become an endless number of back-and-forth emails, missed connections, and miscommunication.
In a phrase — asynchronous work environments pose quite a challenge to today’s remote manager if you aren’t used to them. And it’s even more taxing when you want to check up on one individual at a time.
That’s what makes the one on one meeting (often stylized as 1:1), one of the more difficult meetings for even the best remote managers. Yet without these meetings, your employees may feel that you’re apathetic to their goals and ambitions or even their personal life. They’ll feel just like a cog in the machine.
That’s exactly what one on one meetings aim to solve. With a bit of coaching, camaraderie, and discussion of both personal and professional life, you turn from simply a boss to a confidante and mentor.
So even if time is short, the 1:1 meeting is an infrequent and convenient matter of getting the most out of your employees. If you’re looking for ways to improve morale, engagement, and retention, this is your first and best option. Find out why this just might be the most productive yet most informal meeting on your future agenda.
What is a one on one meeting?
A 1:1 meeting is one of the main seven types of meetings. If you only take note of one thing about a one on one meeting, it’s more about listening than anything else. But perhaps it’s more important to know what a one on one meeting isn’t:
- It isn’t a performance review.
- It isn’t a status update.
- It isn’t a survey or an informational meeting.
If you keep the ideas of what the meeting isn’t, you’re better positioned to get down to the nitty-gritty of what it actually is: finding out the ambition of your employee, coaching, and mentoring.
It’s a win-win scenario if you think about it in this regard. By listening, coaching, and mentoring, your reward is a stronger relationship and a worker that has the energy and desire to do their best. Few other things can get the same result.
The basics of a one on one meeting
A one on one meeting is best done every one to two months. This should make the meeting feel less like an obligation and more like an opportunity to improve employee morale and forge a relationship.
One of the greatest benefits of a one on one meeting is to eliminate friction. If you’ve never met someone on a more intimate level, the meeting itself can feel intimidating on both sides. But the intention of a 1:1 meeting itself is to eliminate any tension and leave an open and honest conversation in its wake.
So in a basic format, you’re looking to open up the lanes of conversation. Ask open-ended questions. Let the employee do the talking. You’re essentially playing the role of a coach. You aren’t there to make sweeping statements about what somebody should do, but rather, provide your insight to improve the professional life of a person in your company.
How to prepare for a one on one meeting
In the great spectrum of a manager, executive, or owner of a company, you’re all about making someone thrive in their current work environment. It’s not inherent in most people. But prepping for a one on one meeting shows initiative that the employee will respond to.
Lara Hogan says that there are three main roles of a manager:
Mentoring is guiding someone along the way and giving them advice when they reach challenging situations.
Coaching is offering space to the other person to hear themselves and reflect on how they can achieve their own goals.
Sponsoring is taking responsibility for the success of that person.
The one on one meeting should be 80% coaching, 15% sponsoring, and 5% mentoring.
Before you do anything else, prepare to listen more and talk less. You’ll be tempted to jump in and give advice or stories from your own career.
Don’t.
Just ask really good questions.
Questions to ask during a one on one meeting
It’s helpful to have a list of questions that guide your one on one meeting, especially if you are new to them.
First, consider starting with the basic coaching questions that Michael Bungay Stainer leads with:
- What’s on your mind?
- And what else?
- What’s most important to you?
- How can I help?
If you are going to use the one on one for some performance management time, you can use the START, STOP, KEEP framework.
- Here’s something to start doing:
- Here’s something to stop doing:
- Here’s something to keep doing:
If you use this model, be sure to have the other teammate give you similar feedback.
Other leaders like to have a longer list of questions that the team member can pick from before they step into the one one one. Here are a lot of good questions you can use to form a new template for one on one questions:
- What do we need to follow up on from our last 1:1?
- I’d love to get your advice on how to handle ______.
- When have you felt frustrated in the past few weeks?
- How is your personal productivity system working for you?
- What are you most proud of?
- Do you think we’re headed in the right direction as a team?
- Are there any decisions you’re hung up on?
- Is there anything holding you back?
- What’s something you learned this month?
- How are you doing on these three metrics: autonomy, mastery, purpose?
- Do you have any unsettling observations about our team culture?
- Would you like more or less feedback on your work?
- Would you like more or less direction from me?
- How is your workload?
- What aspect of your job would you like more help or coaching?
- What about my management style can I improve?
- If you told me you were leaving, would I fight hard to keep you? (HT: Netflix)
- What have you been wanting to learn more of?
- Is there an area outside your current role where you feel you could be contributing?
- If you could design your ideal role in a company, what would it look like?
- When is the next time you are taking some time off work?
- What’s the one question you want me to ask you next time we meet?
Don’t make one on one meetings like all the rest of your meetings
One on one meetings are a kind of digital meeting that have a reputation of feeling like a formality. But don’t let that deter you from putting your best foot forward. Above all, your workers are human beings, and connections and interactions are what makes them feel comfortable.
With a positive attitude, a bit of criticism, and your insightful guidance, one on one meetings just might be the glue that propels your company to the next level.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
The digital era of work is in full force, and no one feels it more than team leaders.
What was once a “Hey, can you come into my office?” or “Meet me in the conference room” has become an endless number of back-and-forth emails, missed connections, and miscommunication.
In a phrase — asynchronous work environments pose quite a challenge to today’s remote manager if you aren’t used to them. And it’s even more taxing when you want to check up on one individual at a time.
That’s what makes the one on one meeting (often stylized as 1:1), one of the more difficult meetings for even the best remote managers. Yet without these meetings, your employees may feel that you’re apathetic to their goals and ambitions or even their personal life. They’ll feel just like a cog in the machine.
That’s exactly what one on one meetings aim to solve. With a bit of coaching, camaraderie, and discussion of both personal and professional life, you turn from simply a boss to a confidante and mentor.
So even if time is short, the 1:1 meeting is an infrequent and convenient matter of getting the most out of your employees. If you’re looking for ways to improve morale, engagement, and retention, this is your first and best option. Find out why this just might be the most productive yet most informal meeting on your future agenda.
What is a one on one meeting?
A 1:1 meeting is one of the main seven types of meetings. If you only take note of one thing about a one on one meeting, it’s more about listening than anything else. But perhaps it’s more important to know what a one on one meeting isn’t:
- It isn’t a performance review.
- It isn’t a status update.
- It isn’t a survey or an informational meeting.
If you keep the ideas of what the meeting isn’t, you’re better positioned to get down to the nitty-gritty of what it actually is: finding out the ambition of your employee, coaching, and mentoring.
It’s a win-win scenario if you think about it in this regard. By listening, coaching, and mentoring, your reward is a stronger relationship and a worker that has the energy and desire to do their best. Few other things can get the same result.
The basics of a one on one meeting
A one on one meeting is best done every one to two months. This should make the meeting feel less like an obligation and more like an opportunity to improve employee morale and forge a relationship.
One of the greatest benefits of a one on one meeting is to eliminate friction. If you’ve never met someone on a more intimate level, the meeting itself can feel intimidating on both sides. But the intention of a 1:1 meeting itself is to eliminate any tension and leave an open and honest conversation in its wake.
So in a basic format, you’re looking to open up the lanes of conversation. Ask open-ended questions. Let the employee do the talking. You’re essentially playing the role of a coach. You aren’t there to make sweeping statements about what somebody should do, but rather, provide your insight to improve the professional life of a person in your company.
How to prepare for a one on one meeting
In the great spectrum of a manager, executive, or owner of a company, you’re all about making someone thrive in their current work environment. It’s not inherent in most people. But prepping for a one on one meeting shows initiative that the employee will respond to.
Lara Hogan says that there are three main roles of a manager:
Mentoring is guiding someone along the way and giving them advice when they reach challenging situations.
Coaching is offering space to the other person to hear themselves and reflect on how they can achieve their own goals.
Sponsoring is taking responsibility for the success of that person.
The one on one meeting should be 80% coaching, 15% sponsoring, and 5% mentoring.
Before you do anything else, prepare to listen more and talk less. You’ll be tempted to jump in and give advice or stories from your own career.
Don’t.
Just ask really good questions.
Questions to ask during a one on one meeting
It’s helpful to have a list of questions that guide your one on one meeting, especially if you are new to them.
First, consider starting with the basic coaching questions that Michael Bungay Stainer leads with:
- What’s on your mind?
- And what else?
- What’s most important to you?
- How can I help?
If you are going to use the one on one for some performance management time, you can use the START, STOP, KEEP framework.
- Here’s something to start doing:
- Here’s something to stop doing:
- Here’s something to keep doing:
If you use this model, be sure to have the other teammate give you similar feedback.
Other leaders like to have a longer list of questions that the team member can pick from before they step into the one one one. Here are a lot of good questions you can use to form a new template for one on one questions:
- What do we need to follow up on from our last 1:1?
- I’d love to get your advice on how to handle ______.
- When have you felt frustrated in the past few weeks?
- How is your personal productivity system working for you?
- What are you most proud of?
- Do you think we’re headed in the right direction as a team?
- Are there any decisions you’re hung up on?
- Is there anything holding you back?
- What’s something you learned this month?
- How are you doing on these three metrics: autonomy, mastery, purpose?
- Do you have any unsettling observations about our team culture?
- Would you like more or less feedback on your work?
- Would you like more or less direction from me?
- How is your workload?
- What aspect of your job would you like more help or coaching?
- What about my management style can I improve?
- If you told me you were leaving, would I fight hard to keep you? (HT: Netflix)
- What have you been wanting to learn more of?
- Is there an area outside your current role where you feel you could be contributing?
- If you could design your ideal role in a company, what would it look like?
- When is the next time you are taking some time off work?
- What’s the one question you want me to ask you next time we meet?
Don’t make one on one meetings like all the rest of your meetings
One on one meetings are a kind of digital meeting that have a reputation of feeling like a formality. But don’t let that deter you from putting your best foot forward. Above all, your workers are human beings, and connections and interactions are what makes them feel comfortable.
With a positive attitude, a bit of criticism, and your insightful guidance, one on one meetings just might be the glue that propels your company to the next level.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
