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1:1 Meetings |Leila's House of Corrections

During stressful and uncertain times, you may be tempted to cancel your one on one meetings with each team member. Don't! Your employees look forward to these meetings and they are one of the best ways for you to remain an effective, involved manager.

If you have questions or suggestions for future video topics, Leila wants to hear from you.

Speaker: Leila Bulling Towne, Executive Coach, The Bulling Towne Group

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Tags: Video, Corporate Communications, Team Management, Marketing, Management, Leila's House of Corrections, meetings, manager, downturn, 1 on 1, weekly, performance, review

 

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1:1 Meetings |Leila's House of Corrections

During stressful and uncertain times, you may be tempted to cancel your one on one meetings with each team member. Don't! Your employees look forward to these meetings and they are one of the best ways for you to remain an effective, involved manager.

If you have questions or suggestions for future video topics, Leila wants to hear from you.

When you re swamped and struggling to get work done and with the extra pressures of changing budgets and additional projects, what are the first meetings you think to cancel from your calendar? If it s the one on ones with each of your team members, you re making a short-sighted decision that will cost you later, so Come on managers, it s time to talk about the value of 1:1 meetings.

Taking 1:1 meetings with your direct reports off the calendar won t help you become an effective manager and leader. If anything, it distracts you from the most pivotal function of your role: spending time with team members, listening to them, learning how to help them perform remarkable work. Here are some best practices for efficient 1:1 meetings.

#1: Put yourself in your employee s shoes.

Do you look forward to your 1:1 with your manager? Guess what? Your direct reports feel the same way about their time with you. They see it as an opportunity dedicated purely to asking you crucial questions about the business and how their roles intersect with its success. They look forward to these scheduled interactions; don t disappoint them by canceling unless absolutely necessary.

#2: Start with the employee s agenda.

This is more her meeting than your meeting. Direct an employee to come prepared with an agenda. Then, begin with her outline, saying something like, Nora, what do you want us to spend our time discussing? or, simply, What s on your list?

#3: Be present in mind and body.

If you feel overwhelmed and rushed, your body language says so before you even admit the words. Control any anxieties exhibited physically such as spinning a pen, glancing at the clock, or checking your phone incessantly. Honor the individual by switching off worries about other issues, focusing only on her. Take a breath and concentrate. Otherwise, it s time wasted for both of you.

In terms of topics to discuss, remind yourself to share updates on business plans and strategies with all of your team members. You ve heard me say this before and I ll say it again: over-communicating won t make you a bad or an ineffective manager. Use 1:1s to discuss which tasks to tackle and which methods to master from weekly status reports to personal objectives to yearly, strategic company goals. Even if you spend just 15 minutes a week shooting the breeze with each employee, that is time well spent.