I recently changed managers and I haven't been doing 1:1 meetings with the previous one. Since the new manager seems to prefer a more systematic approach, I figured I could ask you guys - do you have a plan before going into these kinds of meetings? What kind of talking points do you often have?
Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
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Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#2I try to use the one from the Manager Tools podcast but we have a hard time sticking to it. https://www.manager-tools.com/manager-tools-basics#
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#3Used to have a structured one:
- what have I done;
- what I am going to do
- misc/additional information/personal development
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#4It's pretty much just talk about whatever is going on in the week. Some weeks are busier than others.
We usually talk about what's going on around the office, how the current project is going, what's going on with coworkers and what the plans in the future are. I will bring up blockers/promotion talks/holidays anything that I need his help with. We're pretty informal about it.
It all depends on the manager and their personality. I find it's better to be casual and not have a strict agenda though.
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#5I prepare the agenda on my own, it's usually 2 to 5 points. My issues, worries, what I struggle with, what I plan to do in the long run, I ask for general feedback every few months.
Sample agenda:
* I did X in situation Y; could I have handled this better?
* I have too many things to do, so which is the priority: A or B?
* I'll do this big thing over the next month, wdyt? etc
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#6I have had many managers and no two conducted 1:1 meetings the same.
In my experience it depends greatly on what sort of rapport you have with this manager. Can you read his personality? If you barely know the person and think he might be a stickler for detail and protocol, then keep your agenda to positive topics. Focus on your accomplishments and anything you plan that has a direct contribution to the company. Avoid anything negative, it might come back to haunt you. This is the safest path.
If you have reasonable rapport then I would suggest to still stick to being positive, but you could very diplomatically raise any issues that might be negatively impacting the company. What I mean is that instead of saying something like "This open plan office is too noisy and I can't concentrate" say: "Sometimes the office gets quite noisy. Perhaps these conditions could be distracting for some of the staff and impact upon productivity." If you get asked how it affects you then you could say: "I use noise cancelling headphones to minimise the impact and maintain my workflow." Of course that presumes you have such headphones. The above is merely an example of how to recast comments so that you don't look like a complainer. If in doubt, don't.
The next 1:1 will be much easier because you have the experiences from the first one to guide you.
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#7shouldn't a 1:1 be more free-flowing than agenda-based? Let the chat go where the conversation takes you. I find structuring such conversations, confines and probably counter-productive.
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#8I have had many managers and no two conducted 1:1 meetings the same. In my experience it depends greatly on what sort of rapport you have with this manager. Can you read his personality? If you barely know the person and think he might be a stickler for detail and protocol, then keep your agenda to positive topics. Focus on your accomplishments and anything you plan that has a direct contribution to the company. Avoi…
In most teams, the manager's raison d'être is simply to make you more productive. This means unblocking problems when you are stuck, aligning vision (to avoid wasted work), to motivate and prioritise work when overloaded.
The advice of avoiding bringing "negative" things and using the session as almost a celebration of your success is massively missing the potential usefulness of these sessions!
If your boss doesn't know about impedance to your productivity, how can they possibly help you?
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#9shouldn't a 1:1 be more free-flowing than agenda-based? Let the chat go where the conversation takes you. I find structuring such conversations, confines and probably counter-productive.
It's easy to forget what's on your mind if you don't have at least some points you want to want to discuss.
Re: Ask HN: What agenda do you have for 1:1 meetings with your supervisor?
#10* Performance (e.g. challenges, obstacles, short/long term goals, feedback, productivity)
* Professional development & engagement (e.g. professional goals, training, engagement, coaching)
* Contribution to company growth (e.g. process improvement, supporting colleagues, training pilot/ buddy programs, any other activities)
* Things done / achievements since last 1on1
* Feedback for the manager (e.g. what he/she could have done better/differently since last 1:1, what you/the team is missing)
In summary: What can be done for you, the team and company aside from just "correct individual contribution".
Try to avoid discussing things related to lifecycle of ongoing projects. Those should be handled within your team's standard execution flow. If there's need to talk more on a 1:1 then probably you have a gap there.
Of course in an ideal world in a company that supports ongoing feedback and people are not afraid to raise any issues on a daily basis it should be just: "Hey, do you have anything to talk about? - Nope, everything we discussed on a daily basis. - Ok, same here".
In the real world, there are always things which "there's never a good time for" and periodical check-up is useful for that just like a team retrospective.