Notes from the Field - 1 On 1 Conversations

Let's face it, who looks forward to one on one conversations as leaders? It's that thing that we're supposed to be doing every month as the team member. It's that thing that I have to do every single month with a leader. But why doesn't it work? Why do we not get the value out of it as a leader? The effectiveness of our one on one ties directly in to our effectiveness as a leader. And there's two things that we've absolutely got to keep in mind, that to create these effective one on ones, number one, we should not be driving the agenda. The team member coming to the table during that one on one should be taught that they are driving the agenda. They are coming with the ideas, the thoughts, the challenges that are important to them first. Because a one on one is not about the leader. The one on one is about the individual and helping the individual tackle the things that are most important to them. That's idea number one that we've got to get right. But there's a second thing that we have to pay attention to. A one on one is about getting to know your team member and then growing that individual as an individual. What we have a tendency to do as leaders is focus only on the results in the business. What we should be really doing is starting by helping the individual grow and as an individual and the things that they want to achieve for the first 20 or 30 minutes and then transitioning the conversation into the business, the performance, the objectives and supporting them in that order. When we start with the business, the one on one becomes all about us as the leader. It's an opportunity for us to build a relationship and trust with our team member, make sure they drive the agenda, make sure we start with them first, then go to the business.