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How To Run Effective One to Ones

Guest post by: Sean McPheat

Article Overview: In this article you will learn how to run effective one to ones. To find out more read on....

How To Run Effective One to Ones

Do you hold weekly, monthly or quarterly one to one meetings with your direct reports?

You may not even hold them at all!

Want some tips on how to run them more effectively?

You do?

Great! Then read one...

One of the topics that I like to include in most of our management courses are how to run regular one to one development sessions with your staff.

Notice how I say "regular" here!

They are not meant to be "every now and again" or "when we can find the time"

By making a commitment to your direct reports that you are going to invest some of YOUR TIME in them at regular intervals shows to your staff that you are on their side and that you care about their self development.

It also improves their motivation and their performance too.

So here are some of my top tips to make them more effective....

1. Ask your direct report to own the sessions

Get your member of staff to book rooms, schedule the meetings and take ownership of the agenda.

I recommend monthly one to ones for 40-60 minutes.

1 week before the meeting your direct report emails you the topics and updates they want to cover and you send them what you would like to cover.

Both of you go into the meeting 100% prepared with the agenda so that you can both focus on what needs to be discussed.

2. Ask for self assessment

The first thing you should do in a one to one is to ask your direct report for their input as to how they see their own progress and how they feel.

Get them to open up. Ask questions about what they say.

They will feel that you are really taking a genuine interest in them because you are concentrating on their agenda and not yours and to them theirs IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOURS!

3. Give your feedback

Tell them what they have done well and what progress they have made since the last one to one.

Ask them whether they would do anything differently if they could have the month again?

Provide them with feedback on the outputs that did not go so well but put a positive slant on it.
i.e "What can we do to improve?" rather than "You did wrong"

4. Focus on action

Ask what action points both of you can take away from the session for next time. What is needed? Can you help? etc

5. Ask your direct report to summarise the session

By asking your staff member to summarise the meeting and the action points it:

a. makes sure that they have listened!
b. will make sure that they listen in future meetings!
c. promotes ownership on them to take more responsibility
d. develops their skills
e. clarifies everything that needs to be done
f. both of you have the same understanding
g. lightens your workload!

Okay, that's a very brief overview of how to make your one to ones more effective.

I hope you find that useful?

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