A New Manager’s Guide to One-on-One Meetings

The one-on-one meeting is arguably one of the most important meetings that you can have with your employees. In most cases, how your direct reports feel about you (their boss) dictates how they feel about the company and their job. That’s why one of your main responsibilities as a manager is to use this time to connect with your team members and fuel their growth.

Countless top-notch Managers have spoken to the benefits of one-on-one meetings:

• “One of the first things that happen when you start doing one-on-ones is you notice you start getting fewer questions during the week. Things aren’t quieter… People just aren’t coming to you with hundreds of small questions because they know they can wait until the one-on-one.” Mark Horstman, on the Managers Tools podcast.

• “Establishing a consistent one-to-one meeting schedule is a critical tool to improving time management,” argues productivity expert Dave Crenshaw.

• “The fundamental reason the one-on-one exists is to give a platform to the direct report to allow them to communicate to you. In order to effectively develop relationships with our directs, we’ve got to spend time communicating about things that are important to them,” says Michael Auzenne on the Managers Tools podcast.

More organizations are recognizing that one-on-ones add immense value to the way in which employees progress in their careers, feel supported and valued at work. What sets good managers apart from great managers is that the latter go over and above to support employees which will, in turn, enrich your relationships with each individual as well as your overall team culture.

Whether you’re struggling to structure your one-on-one meetings, or aren’t sure if adding an extra meeting to your schedule is worthwhile, this course covers everything you will need to know about hosting effective 1:1 meetings as a manager or leader.

What we will cover in this course:

1. What is a one-on-one meeting?
2. The benefits to running frequent one-on-one meetings with your direct reports
3. Understanding your role as a manager in one-on-one meetings
4. How preparing for one-on-one meetings will lead to successful outcomes
5. The importance of meeting action item’s to foster accountability
6. How to create an agenda that will guide powerful discussions in your one-on-one’s
7. How to deliver constructive feedback to your direct reports
8. How to coach your team to success