Poorly planned one-on-ones squander time. You’re thinking, “Hurry up. I have real work to do.”
Reusable one-on-one plans save time.
Provide clarity, freedom, and confidence with reusable one-on-one plans.
A reusable one-on-one plan:
- Prepare in 3-minutes.
- Define success.
- Turn toward the future.
- Ask questions. Listen more than talk.
- Don’t fix.
- Create a goal.
- Challenge and support. (Design specific actions and establish accountability.)
Prepare:
Before team members show up, take three minutes to prepare.
- Review notes in OneNote or equivalent. Notes written on paper waste time. You can’t find them when you need them.
- Release stress. Breathe deep for a minute.
- Bring to mind something you admire about your team member.
- Identify how you want to show up.
- Welcome them with optimism.
Define success:
Determine the win before you begin.
Ask your team member:
- What’s going to make this a great conversation for you?
- Imagine this conversation is over, what’s a great outcome?
- Suppose we have a useful conversation, what will we accomplish?
Turn toward the future:
The past is a platform that can’t be changed. Explore and evaluate the past, but don’t park there.
Disappointment follows frustration when you idle in the past.
Turn toward the future:
- What’s happening? What do you want to happen?
- What’s working? What could be better?
- What’s not working? What do you need to stop doing? (Actions that don’t add value.)
- What’s holding you back? What could you do to create forward momentum?
- Bring up a project that’s going good and ask, “What’s making this project go well? How can you do more of that, specifically?”
- Bring up a recurring concern. Ask, “What have you been trying to fix this? What else might you try?” (More of the same produces more of the same.)
Successful one-on-ones always turn toward the future.
What do reusable one-on-one plans look like to you?
Still curious:
5 Energizing Conversation Starters for One-on-Ones