1-1 Meetings:What they are, why they matter, and how to implement them.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON WAVELENGTH BY ASANA

"You spend so much time finding great people, it’s worth it to help them grow

to be the best they can be."— JUSTIN ROSENSTEIN, (Co-Founder, Asana)

What is a 1-1 meeting?

A 1-1 meeting is...

A dedicated time for open conversation between

manager and employee.

A place for coaching, mentorship, giving

context, or even venting.

A time on a regular cadence for teammates and leaders to connect

and communicate.

1-1 meetings are not status reports.

What are the benefits of 1-1 meetings?

Benefit #1You can make sure you and your team are aligned.

Benefit #21-1s can stop larger issues from festering.

Benefit #3They allow for immediate and regular feedback.

Benefit #41-1s can promote open communication.

Benefit #5

They help managers and employees develop a strong relationship.

How to make time in your calendar for 1-1 meetings

Tip #1

Set aside 30 to 60 minutes on a weekly or bi-weekly basis with each of your team members.

Don’t feel confined to a conference room: Suggest getting out of the office for a walk or grabbing a coffee.Tip #2

Some managers prefer to have a day dedicated to 1-1s while others sprinkle their meetings throughout the week.Tip #3

Tips for organizing your 1-1

There’s no one way to organize a 1-1

Many factors dictate the best way to structure your meetings for success, including:

● the emotional needs of those you manage

● your relationship

● the team member’s experience level

The most important element in a successful 1-1 is creating a space where individuals feel comfortable to discuss the issues and concerns on their mind. These meetings are primarily for the employee, and their participation is vital.

Make a private project in Asana dedicated to your 1-1. Contribute tasks and topics to discuss. Add sections titled: Goals, Discuss

this week, Revisit later.

See full tutorial here

ASANA TIP

Learn how to set up a 1:1 project like this in Asana.

Organizing & preparing for your 1-1● Pre-populating the agenda ensures you cover priority topics.

● Make a shared agenda to provide context prior to the meeting and allow both parties to take ownership of the meeting.

● Time box the topics you know you need to cover.

● Preparing for the meeting ahead of time allows you to eliminate spending time on background information and immediately get to the things that really matter.

Begin your 1-1 with an open-ended question. This allows the most important and top of mind topics to surface. Here are some questions you might try:

● How are you feeling?

● What is on your mind?

● What are you most excited about?

● What are you most worried about?

The manager’s game planFOR MANAGERS

Most importantly, listen to what’s being said. Once you’ve fully heard your team member, be a facilitator of solutions. Uncover what they’re excited about, how you can mentor them to be successful, and unblock them to do their best work. Here are some tactics:

● Affirm their perspective first

● Disclose your weaknesses or places where you’ve stumbled

● Be unconditionally on their side, even (and especially) when giving them blunt feedback about opportunities for growth

● Respect them as a person, not just a performer of tasks; treat them as a peer

The manager’s game planFOR MANAGERS

The key challenge of the coach is to listen without a filter. A filter is a certain attitude or bias the listener takes on that inhibits his or her ability to be present with the authentic experience of the speaker.— CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP GROUP

1-1s are your time to express to your manager what’s on your mind, brainstorm ideas, and communicate your future goals. Use your time wisely:

● Prior to your meeting, organize which topics you’d like to discuss and add those to the agenda.

● Feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, blocked, or excited? Think about why you feel this way and outline any specific potential solutions you’d like to work through with your manager.

(cont…)

How to leverage 1-1s to get what you wantFOR EMPLOYEES

● Remain open to discussing what’s really going well and where you need your manager’s support.

● Ask for what you want in layman’s terms. Remember, no one can read your mind. Is it more responsibility? An opportunity to manage a junior team member? Discuss these things in specifics.

How to leverage 1-1s to get what you wantFOR EMPLOYEES

Example questions for discussing long-term goals

Role Questions 1. What’s your pie chart of what you are

working on? What do you want it to be?

2. How do you view yourself in your role?

Career Reflection

1. If you were having the best work day ever in your ideal role, what would your schedule look like?

2. Where do you get your job satisfaction from?

3. Where have you been most successful in the past?

Long-term Goals

1. What are your long-term goals? What skills do you need to achieve them?

2. What obstacles will you need to overcome to achieve these goals?

This was originally published as an article in the Managing and Leading Teams issue of Wavelength by Asana.

Read the original piece or get started managing your 1-1s in Asana.

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