You probably do a lot of one-on-one meetings at work: with your manager, teammates, folks from other teams. Unfortunately, most people totally waste their 1:1 time. The problem: the 1:1s aren’t awkward enough. Here’s how to make them better. (This is part of a series. Check out Part 2 as…

Having one-on-one meetings on a regular cadence with each of your direct reports is probably the most important thing you do as a manager. It’s not the only thing you do, of course, but one-on-one meetings are your must-do-can’t-miss meetings. They’re your single best opportunity to listen, really listen, to…

And here are the tips to have them and build your team culture — For every training, podcast, or article you can get on the internet today on people management, you will have points towards 1:1 meetings as one of the most important resources you have available for being a good manager. But how can 1:1s help you out? How do they influence your…

Before I dig in, let’s clarify that most talent pros distinguish leadership from management. Rather than pit one concept against the other, I think they are both necessary and complementary, and here’s a great post describing how. It’s important for managers to help people grow at work because the return…

How can you gain more value from your 1:1 meetings to learn more about yourself and your work? — 1:1’s are great ways to meet with individuals at work to have open discussions. My first experiences with 1:1’s felt more forced and lackluster. These meetings didn’t provide me any useful feedback or actions to work on. At times, it felt hard to talk about specific problems or career progression…

There are few better uses of your time than a fully focused conversation — Every new manager learns this rule: Meet with your direct reports, one-on-one, every week or so. Every new manager also soon encounters this truth: These meetings can often feel meandering or awkward, and are easy to skip when everyone gets busy. Similarly, outside of work, it’s easy to go days…

As an Engineering Manager, one-on-ones with your team members are a core responsibility of your role, and often one of the largest consumers of your time. As a leadership coach, I often work with individuals who are struggling with their calendars. One of the most effective ways to improve their…

The “one word check-in” and why you should use it — TLDR: The one-word check-in leaves more room for nuance and additional context than similar self-assessments, with the opportunity to build trust in a light, creative way. I amend the 1:1 and subsequent asks to my direct report’s state of mind, making space first and foremost for their holistic wellbeing. For…

If you’re not taking your 1:1s seriously, you’re doing it wrong. If you’re a manager, regardless of whether you’re brand-new, have decades of experience, manage one person or a team of a hundred, continuously developing effective 1:1 skills are vital to your success and that of your team. 1:1s are…

Snooze Slack and plan ahead — You can run meaningful 1-on-1 meetings with members of your team, even when you’re remote. Remote meetings come with a ton of challenges, from technology, timing, digital distractions, and more. Mastering 1-on-1s with your direct reports is also key to being a great manager and leading productive teams. Nothing beats…

A better approach for the most important meeting of the week — There are a lot of work “rituals” that suck so badly you want to hunt down and interrogate who ever invented them. The dreaded weekly status email is one of them. The weekly 1:1 between a boss and a direct report can be another. What should be a chance to…