Work From Anywhere (WFA) will become ubiquitous across organizations that have flexibility for remote work. We’re already seeing this happen with Twitter, Shopify and many others. Leaders across various companies will have to adapt to a new management style; one that focuses away from in-person meetings and whiteboard sessions to virtual discussions.
Managers will have individual contributors (ICs) reporting up, directors will have managers reporting up, VPs will have directors reporting up and so on. Across each layer of the organization, having a clean 1:1 agenda and structure enables cohesiveness and reduces ambiguity.
Below is a sample guide I use to drive my 1:1s. You’re more than welcome to leverage this to your preference.
Our weekly 1:1s are a time to clear roadblocks, identify opportunities, gather feedback, discuss career opportunities, share feelings and ideas.
I’m going to lean on you to own the agenda each week. Below are some bullet points to help us guide the discussion.
Agenda:
- Your areas of focus and KPI updates
- How are we tracking towards quarterly OKRs?
- What are your plans and priorities for next week?
- What challenges or roadblocks do you need help with?
- Is there anything else on your mind?
Optional. Questions I’m constantly thinking about and need your help with.
- What’s the biggest opportunity that we’re not thinking about as a company and your organization?
- How can the team work better together? Where can we improve?
- If you were running this program or project, what would you do differently?
Please know that I don’t shy away from hard conversations and am always open to your constructive feedback.
Agenda Breakdown
KPIs
Notice how we jump straight into metrics and numbers. Everyone in your organization should have KPIs that they are optimizing towards. KPIs become a forcing function to activate measurability in companies. It reduces subjectivity.
Have a document for 1:1s where you can track KPIs and notes around those KPIs. It will make it easier to reflect back when needed or if additional context needs to be shared higher up in the organization.
OKRs
I encourage all leaders to read Measure What Matters by John Doerr if they haven’t already. He shares his framework for objectives and key results (OKRs)… I can’t recommend this enough.
OKRs are a mindset; it’s a simple way to run a company and an organization of all sizes.
Regardless of where one sits in the organization, they should have OKRs. And their success in the company should be measured by OKRs.
Plans & Priorities
List 3 key things that need to be tackled and worked on. If you run sprint plans, then this doesn’t apply. People love to-do-lists, so feel free to create one, but quickly identify top 3 things that are key priorities.
Priority lists > to-do-lists.
Clearing Roadblocks
Encourage your team members to provide clear feedback on their roadblocks. Ask them for ways we can solve the problem. Too often, I see ICs simply suggesting the problem. I appreciate them opening up, but beyond just addressing the problem, encourage them to suggest solutions.
Create a culture of problem solving.
If you have experience in solving the problem, ask them how they would approach the solution before providing the answers. This is an excellent L&D opportunity. This is sort of like a high school textbook with answers in the back of the book. The important part isn’t just the answer, it’s work to solve problems together and then arriving at that answer.
Anything Else?
This section is typically reserved for all other discussion points. I’d recommend reserving 5–10 mins for this depending on the length of your 1:1. 30 min 1:1s should have 5 mins reserved. 60 min 1:1s should have 10 min reserved.
In this section, I’ve had people share life updates, side projects they’re working on, volunteering activities ahead, fun things they’re doing, discussing TV shows, book recommendations, etc. This part humanizes your relationship with people reporting up to you.
This is also a time to have career conversations if your direct report desires; discuss professional growth plans for them.
You won’t typically see all of those happen in 5 mins and it certainly won’t happen weekly… they’re just ideas for how to drive this bullet point of the agenda.
Optional Section
This section is reserved normally for monthly recaps. End of month 1:1s inevitably end up being longer. My preference is to reflect back while planning for the future. Try building your own bullet points to drive your OKRs and KPIs forward.
Parting Thoughts
1:1 time is a safe-space between leaders and people that report up to them. Above all, prioritize creating that safe space and humanize the experience. Virtual 1:1s will become a tool for everyone in the organization to drive great results when done right.