# One-on-Ones

### What Is a One-on-One?

* A regular, private meeting between two individuals, usually a manager and a direct report, with a flexible format that typically includes open dialogue between both parties.
* One-on-one meetings can also take place between peers or people from different teams and companies but these would typically be less frequent than those between a manager and report.
* Opportunity for focused conversation on a range of work-related topics such as, personal development, career development, goals, performance, feedback for manager, feedback for direct report, concerns, challenges, updates on tasks, prioritisation and projects, bandwidth etc…
* Avenue to discuss work-life balance including personal topics like interests, hobbies, family, friends, personal achievements, life changes, well-being, health, holidays, travel, pets, volunteer work etc…
* Chance for managers to ensure that the direct report is engaged and happy, provide guidance, offer support and align on goals.
* Essential feature of a good working relationship with a manager and an essential tool for both parties to express thoughts and concerns, ask questions, explore ways to improve performance, strengthen working relationships, while also building rapport, fostering trust, ensuring open communication, and nurturing professional growth.
* Typically scheduled at regular intervals, such as weekly, biweekly or monthly.
* Agenda should be owned by both parties and should be set and shared well in advance of the meeting. The details of each meeting should be documented and archived for future reference using specifically designed software or a simple shared Google document or otherwise.
* Opportunity for managers to improve their leadership by providing a space to identify issues with their management style early, resolve problems and implement changes safely.
* One-on-ones are probably one of the most important aspects of management to get right. Kevin Sheridan says in his article "[The Top 3 Reasons Employees Quit](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-three-reasons-employees-quit-kevin-sheridan/)", that one of the top three reasons why employees quit is due to their "relationship with their supervisor" and in particular because their supervisor does "not regularly meet with their direct reports to discuss career development, learning, and promotion opportunities." In fact, 17% of those surveyed gave this reason for their resignation.

### Agenda Items

***

**1. All About You** (15 mins)

An open dialogue for team member to discuss their agenda items and a general check-in to see how team member is doing from both a personal and work related point of view.

* Topics or concerns important to team member.
* Questions, advice, discussion on anything not covered.
* Well-being and morale check-in.
* Discuss work-life balance and personal circumstances, if suitable.
* Offer support.
* Open dialogue.

***

**2. Recap & Progress Update** (10 mins)

A quick recap of action items from our previous one-on-one as well as a high level progress update on current tasks and projects. This is not the place to get in depth about any task or project but more an opportunity to discuss workload and gain clarity on prioritisation, if required. This is also a chance to discuss extra support and resources for tasks and projects, again if required.

* Recap and runthrough of action points from last check-in.
* Status review of ongoing tasks or projects.
* Highlight challenges and roadblocks.
* Celebrate successes and achievements.
* Review of current workload.
* Help with task prioritisation and time management.
* Address any concerns regarding workload balance, capacity and bandwidth.
* Discuss additional support, resources, or tools required.
* Identify barriers to efficiency and brainstorm solutions.

***

**3. Company Updates & Alignment** (10 mins)

Sharing company and team news and getting up to speed on anything else that needs to be known. Managers should always be transparent and authentic. If asked about something that cannot be shared or divulged, they should communicate that fact rather than give a politically correct answer or purposefully mislead team members for the good of the company.

* General company news and organisational updates.
* Recent or upcoming changes within the company or team.
* Feedback on these changes.
* Clarity on any concerns or news.
* Recap of company goals, project roadmap, business objectives and team goals.
* Set or revisit individual short-term and long-term goals.
* Ensure alignment with team and company objectives.
* Discuss progress towards meeting personal and professional development goals.

***

**4. Career Development** (10 mins)

Managers play a crucial role in helping team members realise their full potential while aligning with broader business goals. Successful teams are built on talented, motivated individuals, and a manager's commitment to their growth is essential. Managers should actively support each team member's ambitions, whether they aspire to rise to a leadership position, like the CEO's or their manager's role, or have goals unique to their strengths and interests. This might mean breaking down the steps to achieve specific career milestones or simply ensuring a fulfilling environment for those already content. By fostering individual growth and satisfaction, managers contribute to both the team's and business's success.

* Discuss career aspirations and professional development.
* Identify opportunities for skill development, training, or new projects.
* Plan for future career paths within the company.

***

**5. Feedback & Suggestions** (10 mins)

Feedback sessions are valuable opportunities to discuss performance, team dynamics, and workplace culture. Feedback should cover multiple perspectives: managers provide feedback to team members, team members offer feedback on their manager’s performance, and team members can share insights on the company, team, processes, or other relevant areas.

For feedback aimed at managers, it’s generally best delivered in a private one-to-one session, except when a time-sensitive issue demands immediate attention. Managers should encourage team members to specify their preferred way of receiving feedback. While urgent feedback should be shared immediately, other points can be saved for regular one-to-ones. It’s beneficial for managers to actively seek feedback from their team—allowing them to address issues directly rather than hearing about them indirectly.

Providing constructive feedback requires fairness and gives both parties the chance to improve. The most effective feedback is grounded in genuine care for the recipient, whether for their growth, the team’s cohesion, or the company’s success. A guiding principle for giving feedback is that the person offering it should be motivated by something beyond themselves—the well-being of the person, team, project, or organisation as a whole.

* Constructive feedback on performance.
* Praise for good work and discuss areas for improvement.
* Feedback on the manager performance and management style.
* Team and workplace dynamics.
* Relationships with colleagues and team dynamics.
* Address conflicts or communication issues within the team.
* Discuss overall team environment and culture.

***

**6. Summary & Action Items** (5 mins)

A roundup of the meeting, recap on key points and creation (and agreement) on a list of action items.

* Recap on key points.
* Create and agree on a list of action items.

***

### Example Questions

<details>

<summary>Inaugural One-on-One </summary>

* What are your key responsibilities as per your job description or contract?
* Are you currently performing any responsibilities outside of your job description?
* Tell me about yourself?
* What do you like to do outside of work?
* Do you have any hobbies or pets?
* What's your favourite song right now?
* What's your favourite book, podcast or movie?
* What's your favourite place you've travelled to?
* What were the best qualities of your previous manager(s)?
* What were the worst qualities of your previous manager(s)?
* Tell me about the best manager (or lead) you've ever had. What did that person do that you thought was most effective and helpful?
* Tell me about the worst manager (or lead) you've ever had. What did that person do that you thought was most ineffective and unhelpful?
* Would you rather have your one-to-ones weekly or biweekly (fortnightly)?
* What makes one-on-ones the most valuable for you?
* What achievement are you most proud of?
* What motivates you the most?
* Are you happy in your role? What could make it better for you?
* When have you felt the most proud about being a part of the company?
* What kind of projects are you most excited to work on?
* What does success look like for you in the next 30/60/90 days?
* What are your short (1 year), medium (3 year), and long-term (5 year) career goals?
* What are your long-term career goals, and how do you see your current role helping you achieve them?
* What professional goals would you like to accomplish in the next 6 to 12 months, and why?&#x20;
* What projects would you like to work on or be more involved in?&#x20;
* What areas of the company would you like to learn more about?
* What makes you excited and motivated to work on a project?&#x20;
* What type of work environment do you work best in?
* What does an ideal, productive workday look like to you? Walk me through it.
* Do you feel like there are any areas you could improve in your work?
* What's your biggest professional strength?
* What's your biggest professional weakness?
* How do you like to receive feedback? In the moment or later, straight up or with a softer conversation?
* Do you have any blockers right now?
* Is there anything that feels more difficult than it should be in your day to day?
* Do you have anything that upsets you about working here?
* What's one thing we should start, stop, and continue doing as a team/organisation?
* Are you okay with receiving recognition publicly or would you rather that privately?
* How are the main ways I can help you right now, over the coming months and this year?
* Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me?

</details>

<details>

<summary>All About You</summary>

* Are you okay/happy?
* What's on your mind lately?
* Is there anything on your mind since our last check-in?
* What are you excited about personally or professionally?
* What's your energy level from 1 to 10. Why?
* What's one word you'd use to describe how you're feeling right now?
* What has been the highlight of your day/past week?
* What's something you learned this week?
* What was one win you had last week? What are you most proud of?
* What are you most looking forward to this week?
* What has been the lowlight of your past week?

</details>

<details>

<summary>Recap &#x26; Progress Update</summary>

* How are your tasks and projects going?
* What is your outlook on this week?
* Rate your current bandwidth from 1 to 10. Why?
* Any blockers I can help remove?

</details>

<details>

<summary>Company Updates &#x26; Alignment</summary>

* How’s your progress on your OKR/big projects/milestones/PDP?
* What’s your confidence score towards yourself acing this role?
* What’s your confidence score towards your manager?
* What’s your confidence score towards your team?
* What’s your confidence score towards the company and its leadership team?
* How are you tracking with your goals since our last check-in?

</details>

<details>

<summary>Career Development</summary>

* What are your long-term career goals, and how do you see your current role helping you achieve them?
* Where do you see yourself in the next 2-5 years, and what steps do you think are necessary to get there?
* Are there any skills or areas of expertise you’re particularly interested in developing?
* Are there any training programmes, workshops, or courses that you think would benefit your career development?
* Have you looked at going to any conferences this year?
* Would you be interested in mentorship or shadowing opportunities to gain new perspectives or skills?
* What projects or tasks do you feel have given you the most growth in your current role?
* What do you think is your biggest strength in your current role, and how can we leverage it more effectively?
* How do you feel about the feedback you’ve received recently, and how has it impacted your development?
* What support or resources do you need from me to help you achieve your career goals?
* What motivates you most in your career, and how can we incorporate more of that into your current role?
* If you could change one thing about your current role to better support your career development, what would it be?

</details>

<details>

<summary>Feedback &#x26; Suggestions</summary>

* Is there anything that feels more difficult than it should be in your day to day?
* What are the biggest time wasters for you each week?
* Do you have any feedback for me?
* Is there anything you dislike about my management style?
* Is there anything I could have done differently this week?
* If there was one thing I could do differently to help you more, what would it be?
* What's one thing I can start doing to make your job easier?
* What's one thing we could change/improve that would help the team?
* Is there anything that would be productive for me to re-explain to our team?
* How can we improve communication within the team?
* Who deserves a shout-out on the team?
* Who's doing great work on the team?
* Is there anyone on the team who you think is struggling?
* Do you have any questions for me or anyone in the organisation?
* What do you think about our one-to-one just now?

</details>

<details>

<summary>Questions For Managers</summary>

* Am I performing as expected?
* What are some skills I could acquire that could really help me grow here?&#x20;
* I'm thinking about taking some time off soon, is that okay?
* Do you see me improving? If not, what should be my areas of improvement?&#x20;
* What should I focus on to get promoted?&#x20;
* Was I able to achieve the feedback that you gave me the last time?&#x20;
* What should I stop doing? And Why?&#x20;
* Are there responsibilities I can take over to grow in my career?&#x20;
* What things am I doing well that I should continue doing?&#x20;
* Are there any gaps in my current project delivery workflow steps?
* What is this new project/initiative about? Why do we need it?&#x20;
* What is this team/person working on currently? It seems like they’re busy?
* What concerns did your team raise last month, and how did you address them?
* What was the biggest impact created by your team last month, and what contributed to it?
* What issues, conflicts, and disagreements got your significant time and attention? Why were they important?
* What were the key takeaways from the discussions you had last month with stakeholders or other cross-functional leaders/managers?
* What was your biggest learning last month? How can you apply it in the future?

</details>

More [one-on-one questions from Hypercontext](https://hypercontext.com/blog/meetings/121-questions-for-one-on-one-meetings).

### FAQs

**Is it okay to discuss tasks, prioritisation and projects?**

Contrary to popular belief, it is perfectly acceptable to discuss current tasks and prioritisation in one-on-one meetings. However, it is essential to keep these discussions balanced with other topics to maintain a productive and engaging conversation. If specific tasks or projects require in-depth discussion, consider setting up dedicated meetings outside of one-on-ones.

**How often should one-on-one meetings occur?**

The frequency of one-on-one check-ins with a manager can vary greatly depending on the individual needs of employees, the nature of the work, and the culture of the organisation. A common recommendation is to have these meetings weekly, as this allows for regular communication and timely feedback. However, some organisations opt for biweekly (fortnightly) or monthly check-ins, particularly if the nature of the work does not require constant updates or if the manager has a larger team. In some cases, especially in less hands-on work environments or where employees are more autonomous, one-on-one check-ins may only occur a few times a year. Ultimately, the ideal frequency should be tailored to what best supports both the employee’s development and the organisation’s goals.

**What are the meetings called?**

You've probably asked yourself this question more than once, and it's a safe bet you've seen more than one of the many ways to name this meeting: one-on-one, 1 on 1, 1-on-1, 1-1, 1:1, one to one, 1 to 1, 121, check-ins and more. There are two standard names for this meeting. Typically, in American English, it is called a one-on-one meeting and in British English, it is called a one-to-one meeting. The choice between the two is entirely up to you, as people generally understand both terms.

However, the correct way to write both names is with hyphens: one-on-one or one-to-one. The plural forms are one-on-ones and one-to-ones, with no apostrophe. In title case, they should be written as One-on-One Meeting or One-to-One Meeting.

**Should feedback be given in one-on-one meetings?**

Many articles and books argue against giving feedback in one-on-one meetings, but the answer is more nuanced. A better response might be 'It depends.' The appropriateness of providing feedback in a one-on-one setting depends on the nature of the feedback, the relationship, and the context. While some feedback is best delivered in real-time or in a group setting, other types may be more effectively communicated in private during a one-on-one meeting. For example, feedback related to constructive criticism or performance issues, sensitive personal feedback, career development and progression, emotional or behavioural concerns, and positive but personalised feedback is often better handled privately.

### Further Viewing

{% embed url="<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWz57CpcSnE>" %}

### Notable Articles

{% embed url="<https://blog.novatools.org/2-essential-frameworks-for-effective-one-on-one-meetings-c989fa8bf8fd>" %}

{% embed url="<https://betterprogramming.pub/how-to-give-feedback-to-your-manager-3f0175fbf1f1>" %}

{% embed url="<https://maryamtaheri.medium.com/the-only-1-1-template-you-need-773b30e3307a>" %}

### Further Reading

{% embed url="<https://raindrop.io/TonyODonohoe/1-1-meetings-47121711>" %}
