How to Lead Effective 1 on 1 Meetings
If you are not having consistent 1 on 1 meetings with your staff, you are missing out on an incredible opportunity to build your culture and loyalty in your company. A “1 on 1 meeting” is a 30-minute to 1 hour meeting that takes place with you and someone else in your company. This meeting takes place on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.
I have seen this radically change a company, so today I want to give you 5 things to improve and build structure around your 1 on 1 meetings.
Schedule a time and protect it with your life.
Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not change the 1 on 1 meeting time. When my supervisor years ago would reschedule our 1 on 1 meetings, it made me feel like there was something more important than the time that was scheduled for me. Be cautious of that and try your best to show your employee that you value their time.
A good way to avoid cancelation is to set these meetings up months in advance. I like to have them planned out for the year, so I can plan my schedule around them. The bottom line is this: schedule and prioritize.
The next three tips come within the 1 on 1. I like to ask 3 questions.
1. Where are you on a 1-10 scale? 10 being the greatest day of your life and 1 being the worst day of your life. As a leader, this helps me understand where they are. Say someone comes in at a 6. With this in mind, there are two words I don’t want to use: “just” and “only.” I will avoid asking them why they are just or only a 6, because that belittles the number 6 on the scale.
Rather, I would ask them “why do you feel you are at a 6?” I encourage any leader to ask them if they feel comfortable talking about the reason behind the number they choose. This gives you the opportunity to take off the coaching hat and put on the mentoring hat to see what you can do to serve that person during that time.
2. What do you feel like you are winning at right now? Most likely, the employee already knows exactly what this is and is excited to tell you. This may be inside or outside of the company. Whatever it may be, celebrate this win.
3. What do you feel is your biggest opportunity for growth? Let them take a second to think about this. Once again, this may be inside or outside the company. We want our staff to be winning and growing at home before winning and growing at work. You’re going to get a way better employee if they are first working to be a better person at home.
Break out of the office and find a comfortable place to meet if possible.
Lastly, you never want to correct a person during a 1 on 1.
I try my best to make my 1 on 1’s a celebration for the employee. This is not the time nor place to correct them on dress code, being late, etc. Those corrections should be addressed in the moment not pushed aside for the 1 on 1. I like to provide drinks or snacks to make the employee feel welcomed. Overall, we want our employees to look forward to these set meetings.
1 on 1 meetings are one of my favorite things to do in our company, but they can be tiring after a full day of meeting with employees. However, by following these 5 tips you will find that the process is worth the time put in:
1. Schedule it and protect it with your life
2. Ask where they are on a scale of 1-10.
3. Ask where they are winning in their life.
4. Ask what their biggest opportunity is for growth.
5. Do not correct them during the 1 on 1.
Put this into action, stay consistent with it and you will reap the benefits. This process has added so much value to our company and we hope you will find value in it to!