How to Fix Your Broken One-on-Ones
Do your one-on-ones with direct reports feel unproductive or stale? Here are some signs to watch for — and tips to revitalize the meetings.
You dread the meeting. If you’re often tempted to cancel one-on-ones, it’s time to rethink your agenda. Lead the meetings with a clear purpose, making sure they’re tailored to the employee’s current needs and priorities. To motivate you both to show up with intention, create a shared document where you and your direct report collaborate on an agenda for each week.
Your meeting always runs over time. If 30 to 60 minutes every week isn’t enough time to sync up, you’re likely diving too deep or veering off track. Identify which topics require a separate, detailed meeting, and make a concerted effort not to get distracted by irrelevant side topics.
You struggle to fill the time. Conversely, what if you routinely run out of things to talk about? Prompt deeper conversations by asking about professional highlights, recent decisions, team dynamics, or potential projects.
You feel deflated after every meeting. If your employee is using one-on-ones as venting sessions, leaving you feeling compassion fatigue or even burnout, manage your emotional boundaries. Allow brief venting periods but steer the conversation toward solutions.
Read the article: "5 Signs Your One-on-Ones Aren’t Working," by Jen Dary
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1wOne-on-one meetings are powerfull to any leader and employee make sure they are going to the same direction, gaining efficiency and saving time for each other and for the company. In my management experience I'm used to set with my direct reports the more adequate term to allocate the meetings, being weekly or biweekly term and of course what kind of topics we are going to treat, so there's no mystery for anyone on what we are going to discuss during the proposed time.
Business Administration Student at Brandon University, & Future Project Manager
2wThis is great and straight-to-the-point, a bite-sized how-to! Having the opportunity to engage in solution-based one-on-one discussions with management/supervisors is important. It becomes tricky if said management isn't experienced in how to best steer a meeting. It can also feel deflating when looking for guidance from superiors and instead receiving messages of deflection or dismissal instead of solutions or best practice recommendations.
CEO / COO in MatroLuxe
3wOne-on-Ones meetings are an important component of developing and maintaining harmonious team relationships between managers and subordinates. They must be regular in order to feel the corporate pulse of the team in a timely manner.
Perpetual Inventory Clerk at Macy's
3wInsightful!
Perpetual Inventory Clerk at Macy's
3wGood to know!