Hi, everyone, 

I wanted to share a question I’m asked about often and excited to be diving deeper into during our new course, Activate:

Weekly one-on-one meetings: productive or a waste of time?

It’s a great question. 

And here’s my answer. 

 THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP

Productive! If your one-on-one meeting is handled with confidence and control.
I can toss around numbers like the fact that Harvard Business Review said employees who receive one-on-one time with their manager are 67% percent less likely to be disengaged, or that 23% of employees look for a new job every single day citing “poor manager” or “poor relationship with manager” as their reason, and on and on. But the case for the value of one-on-one meetings goes far beyond just the numbers. Regular one-on-ones are about ensuring managers and employees remain on the same page, and carving out dedicated time on the calendar for open-ended conversation, from coaching and mentorship to giving context and even venting. In other words? A dedicated time for establishing trust with your colleagues. 

THE WEEKLY FLOURISH 

So how do you make your one-on-one time as effective as possible? For starters, it’s important to be sensitive to the fact that if you’ve recently been putting one-on-ones on the backburner due to the pandemic, a sudden request for a one-on-one might make some employees fear a layoff conversation. To counter this, be sure to communicate with enthusiasm about wanting to touch base more often going forward. Include that you’ll be meeting with each member of the team and frame the touchbase in support of the employee. I.E, “This is your chance to discuss priorities and problems that don’t fit into our regularly scheduled meetings.” 

GREATNESS TAKES GUIDANCE

Then, within the meeting be sure to ask specific questions focused on support. Here are a few of our favorites:

• What aspect of your job would you like more coaching on?

• What’s the most important thing I can do to help you be successful? 

• What’s your favorite thing I do as a manager of this team that I should keep doing? What should I stop doing? 

Remember: You expect your employees to do their jobs. But it’s your job to give them the support they need to reach their full potential. 

To building trust on the regular, 
-- Carrie and Team Leadology