Technique: Making One-on-Ones Work

One-on-one meetings provide managers an opportunity to ascertain status, solve problems, and provide positive and corrective feedback.

For highly interdependent teams, consider using daily stand-up meetings to create public commitment, improve intrateam communication, and allow for team problem solving (after the stand-up). Use one-on-ones for feedback and coaching, and any other private communication.

Here’s the structure we use for a one-on-one meeting:

Greeting.

Say “hello.” Ask how things are going. This may seem like small talk. It is, and it helps you build rapport.

Discuss status and progress.

This is where you find out what people accomplished over the last week, what they didn’t accomplish (that they’d planned to), and what their plans are for the next week. Looking at one week in isolation doesn’t give you the information you need to know whether the person is getting work done or struggling. When you track status and progress for several weeks in one-on-ones, you can begin to see whether people are having trouble planning, estimating, or accomplishing work.

Obstacles.

We ask for obstacles in one-on-ones. We find that if we don’t, people suck it up, assume they must soldier on alone, and don’t tell us. Removing obstacles is part of a manager’s job. So, you need to know what the obstacles are.

Help.

Always make a conscious decision about helping. Inflicting help where it isn’t needed feels like micromanagement to the victim.

Start by asking whether the person needs help. Help can come in the form of solving problem jointly, generating options, talking through alternatives, pointing to specific information, or simply listening.

Help directly when asked or when department deliverable and goals are in jeopardy.

Career development.

Paying attention to your team member’s career is another way to build relationships and trust. It shows you are not just there to wring as much work out him or her as possible—you care about his or her career and interests, too. Paying attention to career development will help you keep the best employees.

Anything else to discuss.

Leave room for topics your team member wants to address.

Even though you are meeting with people one-on-one, these regular meetings provide an opportunity to observe the dynamics between individuals. Watch for subtle cues of conflict brewing beneath the surface. For example, look for a team member withholding information from others or allowing duplicate work. If you suspect some sabotage or conflict, probe for more information.

If an issue needs resolution, encourage and coach the people who are involved to do so. If they are not able to resolve the issue—even with coaching—then intervene. Resist the temptation to insert yourself in the middle of other people’s conflicts.

Review actions (yours and theirs).

Summarize and identify any new action items that either of you developed during the one-on-one meeting.

Report on your action items for previous one-on-ones, particularly those that relate to removing obstacles.

Take notes.

Take notes during one-on-one meetings. Notes provide a record of the discussions from the previous week and a way to document action items (yours and theirs). Review the previous weeks’ notes before each one-on-one meeting—to know what to follow up on, where to probe, and to report on your own action items. Another benefit of keeping notes is that the end of the year, you’ll have a record of the entire year. Review the notes prior to year-end discussions to gain a perspective on the entire year.

Troubleshooting one-on-ones.

Verbal status reports are likely to be general and vague—“I’m working on the budget” or “It’s fine.”

After you’ve been using one-on-ones for a while, people will know how to talk about status and progress. When you start, you may have to coach people on how to organize their work to make status reporting possible and how to keep status visible to you.

Whenever possible, ask your staff to plan in inch-pebblesHow to Use Inch-Pebbles When You Think You Can’t [Rot99]—tasks that deliver something in a day or two. Inch-pebbles keep people focused on producing something tangible and allow you to learn early whether something will take longer than anticipated. Mutually clarify what “done” means for each inch-pebble, and be sure both of you understand your team member’s top priorities.

Questions like these help people make their progress visible:

• How will you know when you’re done with that?

• What steps will you take?

• Which part will you work on first?

• Can you provide a picture or a measurement of work to date?

• Do you need to collaborate with anyone else on this?

• How will you know you’re making progress?

• Who needs to be in the loop if you are unable to finish this on time or run into problems?

If your employees don’t show up for their one-on-ones, make sure you’ve established a standard one-on-one schedule. Meeting every week establishes a rhythm. Maintaining a rhythm when you meet less frequently is difficult. Don’t cancel one-on-ones except under the gravest circumstances. Canceling a one-on-one sends the message you don’t care—destroying the trust you’ve built.

Look at how you are conducting the one-on-one. One of the biggest benefits of one-on-ones is building rapport with the people you work with. If your one-on-ones aren’t going well, check your own behavior. Are you mostly talking or mostly listening and asking questions?

Make sure you are not taking any other interruptions—phone calls, cell phone calls, pages, email, drop-ins. For example, if your boss drops in, politely and firmly say, “I’m in an important meeting now. I’ll be with you as soon as it’s over.” Don’t train your boss that it’s acceptable to disrespect you and your team member.