When is the last time you met one-on-one with your team members?

I don't mean to address a crisis or to get a question answered. 

And I'm not talking about the annual performance review. 

I am talking about a regular, intentional conversation. Such meetings (sometimes known as 1-2-1s) are much more than simply status updates or problem solving sessions. They're designed to be a balance of trust building, goal alignment, feedback and learning. 

One thing I know about you as a leader is that you're busy - maybe even crazy busy. So, let me take a wild guess and say that right about now you're asking yourself "How in the world am I suppose to fit more meetings into my schedule?"

I get it. If you ask me that question, I'd have several questions for you (I am a coach after all).

1.  How much time do you spend putting out fires?
2.  How much time do you spend on managing conflict?
3.  How much energy do you use wondering why team members are not meeting your performance expectations?
4.  How much time and money do you spend dealing with turnover? 

Step back for a second and ask yourself what it would be like to trade the time you're now spending on the above challenges for say 30 minutes of focused time every week (or every other week) with each team member.  

At the 2023 Human Capital Management conference, Kate Brown, a Change and Talent Management executive, said, "Manager attention is still the single greatest driver of performance." And Gallup, in their research, found that 70% of the variance in employment engagement is caused by an employee's manager.

You, dear leader, are one of the most influential persons in the lives of your team members.

One-on-one meetings, done well, are one of the most effective ways to positively influence the work experience, engagement and performance of your team. Some best practices for one-on-one meetings include:   

- Meet regularly
- Have a consistent format and agenda
- Allow the team member to drive the agenda
- Meet in a neutral location
- Listen and ask probing and open ended questions
- Summarize actions or next steps
- Seek and provide feedback

Gallup has found that employees who have one-on-one meetings with their leader are 3x more likely to be engaged. And increased engagement leads to increased productivity and performance. And at the end of the day, isn't that the goal? More productivity and better performance that leads to a better outcomes for your clients.

Ready to start, but don't know how to begin?

It's always best to start something new by gaining buy in from the team.

- Explain your goal and reasons for wanting to implement one-on-one meetings.
- Ask the team to help you construct a meeting template/agenda. 
- Schedule your first meetings.
- Talk about the experience.
- Make adjustments.
- Keep going until the meetings become part of the routine.

Want help to construct one-on-one meetings that are engaging and empowering? I've got a workshop to provide you and your leadership team with the tools. Click below to schedule a private conversation with me.

_______________________

Passionate Leadership
is who you're being as you're leading.

About the Author

Gayle Ely is a Leadership Coach, Trainer and Facilitator and founder of Total Life Leadership. At Total Life Leadership, we partner with purpose-driven non-profit leaders and service entrepreneurs to help them answer the question “How Do I Become a Better Leader?”

Using The Six Pillars of Passionate Leadership, we equip leaders to be the best they can be.  The result is a passionate leader whose team and organization are operating for maximum impact.

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