What is the meaning of a one-to-one meeting

Most managers (including Google) think the meaning of a one to one meeting is a “regular check-in” between a manager and their direct report (aka the team member or employee). If this is the case, the meeting may take the following route:

Employee sits down with the manager.
Manager asks how their day is going.
Employee responds with a vague answer.
There’s a moment of awkward silence.
The manager then proceeds to ask, “what’s on the agenda for today” or, “what would you like to connect on?”
The direct report then pulls out their notebook and lists 10-15 things at rapid fire until the end of the meeting.
The manager may ask a question or two.
The meeting ends with the manager saying, “let me know where I can help. Chat later.”

Yes, this is what a regular check-in meeting looks like. This might be useful if you’re looking for a status update on a project, or could be how you run a 15 minute daily scrum meeting. However, this is not the meaning of a one-to-one meeting. Don’t treat your one-to-one meeting like any other item on your list of to-do’s. Your one-to-one meeting is the most powerful tool you have in the manager toolbox.

The purpose of a one to one meeting is to provide an opportunity for open communication around the below subjects:

Discuss
- Goals
- Opportunities
- Objections
- Objectives
- Distractions
- Performance
- Development Opportunities
- Projects
Set Expectations.
Catch issues early on.
Build employee retention.
Replace long emails with the opportunity to chat live.
Clarify or seek understanding on various topics.

Your one-to-one is not a place to hold a venting session. Take this opportunity to allow your team members to voice their concerns, but conclude the meeting with outcomes and tangible action items. Your direct report should leave the one-to-one meeting feeling refreshed, supported, with clear expectations on next steps.

Your one-to-one’s can also be leveraged to build stronger relationships with your direct reports. This is a perfect opportunity to get to know your team and build trust with them individually. Take the opportunity to ask them one or two personal questions. These can be simple, “how was your weekend? What hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?”. Don’t always feel your one-to-one’s need to be performance and workload driven; building your relationship with your team is just as important as discussing their goals and performance. In some cases, it could be considered the most important topic to be discussed in your one-to-one meeting.