How to do one-on-one meetings the right way
summary
Argues that regular one-on-ones raise employee happiness and long-term development and must not be used for status updates; recommends no status updates, a prep → set tone → central → end positively structure, and asking open questions about motivation, obstacles, priorities and resources. Cadence varies by person but he uses 30 minutes bi-weekly (up to 1 hour when needed). Use Jira/GitLab for status instead, take shared notes, and make commitments measurable so promises get done and trust holds.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00One-on-one meetings intro
- 1:01Why one-on-ones matter
- 2:52Manager mistakes
- 4:21Key one-on-one topics
- 6:53Meeting schedules
- 9:00Comfortable effective meetings
- 11:50Right questions to ask
- 14:39Status updates excluded
- 17:29Art of listening
- 20:35Balancing needs
- 22:01Associates lead meetings
- 24:53Wrapping up
- 25:35Q&A
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