• What is a 1-on-1?
• How to do 1-on-1s

What is a 1-on-1?

Lets do a quick rundown of what a 1-on-1s are and what they are not

Impactful 1-on-1s

A 1-on-1 is a powerful and essential tool in the leadership toolbox. It is a private meeting between a team member and their leader. The purpose of the meeting is to create a safe space for a team member to be honest about challenges and, in collaboration, find solutions and actions to improve in certain areas. The focus should be on the team member and what a leader can do to support their overall development.

It is a space for dialogue and feedback. Sometimes it is a space to just talk and listen!

You should be aware that there is always a certain power dimension between a leader and an employee. Regardless of what type of leader you are. It can be hard for employees to feel safe to open up and give feedback, even the constructive kind. It might not even have anything to do with your current leadership, but previous experiences with other leaders. Some people simply like to share less.

So use 1-on-1s to foster connection, and start making people feel comfortable opening up!

What 1-on-1s are not

What 1-on-1s should not be is a performance review or a status update about the team or the team member's work. If your team member wants to discuss work challenges or get your opinion or spar, that is of course welcome, but then it should be because the team member brought it to the discussion. Make sure you do not start the meeting by diving straight into something work related. It sets the whole tone and not what the meeting is about. Save that for the team status or schedule another meeting to specifically talk about work related things. 

You can avoid this by starting every 1-on-1 by simply asking: "How are you doing today?" 

You can also ask your team member bring some topics to the discussion that they want to talk about. That way you co-create the discussion and the team member can control the input of the discussion.

How to do 1-on-1s

A 1-on-1 can be in any type of format. Which ever fits best for you and your team setting. But here are the main components you should keep in mind for your 1-on-1s:

1. Schedule them recurringly and keep the committment. Make sure you have 1-on-1s in the calendar, weekly or biweekly. You can set aside about 30 minutes for a weekly meeting, and 45-60 minutes for a bi-weekly. Try your best to avoid cancelling, but if needed re-schedule as soon as possible. Don't make your team members feel that their time to discuss things with you is unimportant. It should feel like it matters, because it does.  
   The meetings don't have to be in the same setting. Here are a few different settings:
   
   1. Face-to-face at work. This is the most common format, where leader and team member meet at their place of work. 
   2. Online meetings. Often used for hybrid and remote teams.
   3. Walk and talk. This is the one we highly reccommend! Grab a coffee and take a walk together while you talk. It combines fresh air and a more relaxed setting.
   4. Going somewhere new. Meeting at a cafe down the street, or even just in a different meeting room than usual. Take it outside of the "usual" workplace.
2. Co-create the agenda. Invite your team member to create the agenda. That way they bring topics they want to talk about, making the meeting on their terms and focused on their needs.
3. Ask the right questions. It is important to ask The Right Questions so you can support your team members. There are different ways you can ask to open up discussions about motivation, satisfaction, stress etc., and make your team members feel more comfortable about speaking their minds. 
4. Act on feedback. If your 1-on-1s uncover for example challenges that are needed to act on or personal development the team members want to focus on, make sure that together you come up with the next steps, and do an update during your next 1-on-1. 
5. Focus on connection.  Use the 1-on-1s as time you invest in connecting with your team members, getting to know them and who they are. Sometimes simply talking and listening can make a difference.

Having a stable 1-on-1 process makes it easier for you to get honest feedback and have an open collaborative conversations with your team members. Which is hugely beneficial to team wellbeing. It also is important when fx going through change processes that people can have an open discussion with their leader about worries, frustrations, hopes etc. 

So make sure 1-on-1s are a key part of your leadership!