Employee 1-on-1s are being hijacked. Too often, managers use 1-on-1s as an opportunity to talk about KPIs, metrics, rocks, etc. This is NOT what the 1-on-1 is for. If you need an update on “performance,” you should be doing that in a recurring accountability meeting where teams meet to update each other on performance. Instead, the 1-on-1 is simply a time for open communication and feedback, 1-2 times per month, 30 minutes tops. You want to create a routine where individual team members can share how they’re doing and what you, as their manager, could be doing to help. Here is the agenda that I teach you all of my clients: 1. How are you doing personally? 2. How are you doing professionally? 3. What can I start doing, stop doing, or do differently to help you and/or the company succeed? That’s it. Don’t complicate it. Make it about THEM.
