At the risk of stating the obvious let me first say that a 1:1 meeting is your chance to have a one on one conversation with your manager or one of your direct reports. This is a high impact meeting that builds the lines of communication that are vital for a successful work relationship.
If you aren’t having them now you should be. This isn’t just another status report, this is your time to deeply listen and make sure everyone on your team has a voice. Start with just one of these questions and 30 minutes then build a better team from that moment on.
Okay so here they are in all their simplistic glory:
- What is the most exciting thing you worked on recently?
- What do you want to learn next?
- Is there anything we could be doing better to ensure you are successful every day?
I will pull one of these out every few weeks and only one specific question per meeting. They are gateway questions that should lead into a larger conversion. I’ve found that knowing what my team wants to learn about, what they get excited about, and of course what we could be doing better to ensure their success are cheat codes for a happier, more productive team.