How To Have Effective 1:1’s With Your Team Members

Remember those 30-minute one-on-one meetings that felt more like a cozy chat than a productive meeting? We laughed, we talked, but often missed the key points.

It turns out, most managers, myself included, learned to conduct effective 1:1s more through slow experience than quick training.

Good 1:1s meet both the work and personal needs of your team.

Here’s how to make yours better:

1. ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ธ-๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น-๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: Be genuinely curious and caring about how your direct reports are doing. Example questions: “How did you feel this week?” “What was your best moment?” “How has your week been?”

2. ๐—จ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿญ:๐Ÿญ๐˜€: Tools like Asana, Jira, or even Google Sheets are great to track your meetings. Both you and your team member should add updates and agenda points, and review those, before the meeting.

3. ๐—ž๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜: Follow a set agenda. Cover open topics, action items, blockers, questions and successes. Save your valuable meeting time for discussion – you can share regular updates through the online tool.

4. ๐—ฃ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€: Starting on time and avoiding cancellations shows respect. It signals to your team you value their time.

5. ๐—™๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜‚๐—ฝ: If you promise to take an action, update your team on the progress. Itโ€™s a great way to build trust. Ask the same from your team.

6. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: For leaders, information is gold. The leader that listens well has a big advantage. Listening also makes your team feel heard and cared about. (We all overestimate our ability to listen.)

7. ๐—”๐˜€๐—ธ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€: Encourage them to think and reflect about their week. Ask about highlights and challenges. Instead of giving your ideal solution right away, ask them what they think first. This supports growth and learning.

Using these tips, you can turn 1:1s from simple chats into powerful tools for growth and success.

Training, Mentoring And Coaching – When To Use What?

Letโ€™s look at one tool from the leadership toolkit: training, mentoring and coaching your team. ๐Ÿ› 

Demystifying the use of ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, and ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด.

All three are essential skills for any manager.

Use the right skill at the right time to maximize your teamโ€™s development.

So, when to use what?

๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐˜€๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐˜€ ๐ŸŽ“

Perfect for beginners, training is directive and instructional, focusing on knowledge transfer to lay a solid skill foundation. Usually short-term.

“๐˜๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ, ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜Ÿ, ๐˜ , ๐˜ก.โ€

โœ… ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฑ: verify, in a supportive, non-controlling way, if the training was successful and the desired skills were learned.

๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐Ÿงญ

Suited for mid-level to senior team members, mentoring offers guidance and wisdom from personal experience. Guide your team members on their professional journey. Longer term.

“๐˜๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ’๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด. ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ?”

โœ… ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฑ: the relationship is essential in mentoring – take a genuine interest in your mentee.

๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: ๐—ฃ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐˜๐—ต ๐Ÿš€

Ideal for more senior team members, coaching is an equal partnership that promotes self-discovery and maximizes their potential. No advice or instructions are given.

Through questions, help your coachee discover what they want, and how theyโ€™ll get there. Only effective if coachee is motivated to be coached.

“๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ?”

โœ… ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฑ: a good coach is a good listener โ€“ practice active listening and ask open-ended questions.

Every team member, regardless of their role or seniority, might find value in training, mentoring, or coaching, tailored to their unique needs at different times.

Which of the three did you benefit the most from in your career?

Living Longer, Healthier, Happier and More Successful Through Finding Your Purpose – What Does The Research Say?

โ€œA study found a 15% (!) drop in the risk of dying over the next decade for people finding their purpose, regardless of age.โ€

What?!

Raise your hand if you ever subtly rolled your eyes at the mentioning of “finding your purpose ๐Ÿ’ซ”? I get it โ€“ it can sound like part of a motivational YouTube video.

If youโ€™re like me, youโ€™d rather trust data and research than grandiose terms. No crystal-balls magic, just empirically proven benefits. ๐Ÿ’ผ

Well, the research paints a compelling picture: knowing and living your life purpose isn’t just warm and fuzzy; it’s the secret sauce for success.

Here are some of the amazing benefits (sources provided below), accessible for everyone:

๐Ÿ’ช A long-term study found that making a significant step towards finding your purpose caused a 15% drop in the risk of dying over the next decade.

๐ŸŒˆ More happiness, stronger relationships, better sleep, and mental health.

๐Ÿ’ฐ Having a sense of purpose predicts greater income and net worth.

๐Ÿš€ And it’s not just personal โ€“ purpose is a key ingredient to exceptional leadership.

โฌ† For companies, aligning individual and organizational purpose brings a ton of benefits, from a fourfold boost in engagement to a twofold increase in employee retention.

So many advantages, whatโ€™s the catch? Do you need to save the whales to reap the benefits? Win a Nobel Prize? No, not at all.

(Donโ€™t let me stop you though. ๐Ÿ‹)

Also, it’s personal โ€“ you donโ€™t have to share it with anyone. ๐Ÿคซ

And here’s the kicker: purpose works regardless of your worldview, religion, or lack thereof. It’s about the impact you want to make – for yourself and others.

In coaching, we’ve got proven processes to help you discover your purpose. DM me if you’re ready to dive in. ๐ŸŒŸ

Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/202108/10-powerful-benefits-of-living-with-purpose
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656616300836
https://hbr.org/2014/05/from-purpose-to-impact
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/purpose-not-platitudes-a-personal-challenge-for-top-executives
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/igniting-individual-purpose-in-times-of-crisis