1:1’s have been my go to tool for getting things done for a number of years. Over time my understanding of them has evolved.
Early on in my career, they were very unstructured. We would start them by building up an agenda at the beginning of the meeting and then rank and work our way through the topics.
Over time I adopted Gerogia Murch’s format which covered 5 main areas in 1:1’s
1) Feedback 2) Follow up on tasks / new tasks 3) KPI’s 4) Professional Development 5) Career Development
I’ve found this format worked well and gave me focus for 1:1’s however having used this approach for a number of years it’s felt like these meetings have become very transactional or focussing on the what.
Recently, I’ve adjusted my approach. Now my focus of is on the how and why…
By why, I like to get into personal motivations. Why is the person here, why did they do it that way, what’s driving them. I’ve found the shift in focus has lead to more meaningful conversations.
An soft landing to start a 1:1 is how are you doing, what emotion are you experiencing now and why…. and then have a conversation
