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1-on-1 meeting questions

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Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#91

Post by dehrmann »

rwilson4 wrote: post #55
yankit wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of questions and data do you prepare for your 1-on-1s?

My 1:1s have the following format: - Current tasks - Career development/Goals (we have 6 week and yearly goals that the employees select for themselves with a little guidance from me) - Special topic, different each time and very much aligned with the posted list. My question for next time is about values. - Feedback, both delivering and soliciting (this has proven to be the hardest for me, as it takes time to think…

It's also important to talk about relationships with others on the team and other teams.

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#92

Post by yankit »

saagarjha wrote: post #4
stephc_int13 wrote: post #3

Wow, this is amazing. I can't help but think of all the sarcastic answers I would give the so-called manager with a slight grin on my face. Seriously, I think this list is a potent illustration of modern management bullcrap. Come on guys, don't do this to your team, they are not children...

What kind of questions would you ask?

I especially like these 2: - what we as a company doing wrong? - name 10 things which can kill our business?

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#93

Post by rdiddly »

awakeasleep wrote: post #23

Many of these will come off as frustrating and manipulative. When I, a manager, ask “what is the biggest obstacle facing you and how can i remove it,” I’m offloading the manager-level work of identifying blockers for my team on the individual. And hey, that might work, your teammate might have an insight you’re missing. But then, if they do have that insight, you’ve volunteered to do a shitload of work for your team.…

What's the biggest obstacle, that's good information from your direct report. How can I remove it (or CAN I even remove it?), that's kind of up to you to figure out.

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#94

Post by rwilson4 »

lonelappde wrote: post #69
rwilson4 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I treat them as prompts. I’ll give my team as much fore notice as possible what the topic will be and ask them to really think about the question in advance. Otherwise the conversations are often shallow. My team often writes out their thoughts and we go through it, it’s been pretty successful I think!

That's giving them extra homework and stress on top of worrying about deliverables and the problems they already care about.

That may be their perspective, true! But if so I would consider that a red flag indicating burn out. Why are they so worried about deliverables? Do they feel the timelines are too aggressive? Are they really so overloaded they can’t take 20 minutes to think about their work from a different perspective? What other problems do they care about? As a manager I need to tease out these things. But each team is unique; what works for my team might not work for yours!

In 4 years of doing 1:1s this way, at different companies and with dozens of teammates, I have received mostly positive feedback. And I’ve definitely adapted the process to address concerns. But again, every person has their own individual needs and preferences.

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#95

Post by skizm »

dehrmann wrote: post #88
skizm wrote: post #61

As a grunt IC 1 on 1s are a nightmare for me. I never know what to talk about. All current project stuff is hashed out in or after scrum. Career development is more of a once per year thing (at least not weekly). If I had a problem with any of my team members I would have brought it up by now (assuming I thought others felt that way, I don't want to be the only one to bring it up or I'll be seen as the problem). For…

> career development is more of a once per year thing If you see it that way, it's a never thing. Career development is an always thing.

Fair. And you're right, I personally don't care about career development, but that's not an option to tell your manager.

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#96

Post by rwilson4 »

dehrmann wrote: post #91
rwilson4 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 1:1s have the following format: - Current tasks - Career development/Goals (we have 6 week and yearly goals that the employees select for themselves with a little guidance from me) - Special topic, different each time and very much aligned with the posted list. My question for next time is about values. - Feedback, both delivering and soliciting (this has proven to be the hardest for me, as it takes time to think…

It's also important to talk about relationships with others on the team and other teams.

I like that! I’ll think about how I could incorporate it. Thanks!

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#98

Post by jstummbillig »

koonsolo wrote: post #73
RotaryTelephone wrote: post #63

My 1on1's at a 100k+ international corporation always went like this: Manager: so how's it going? Me: great Manager: any issues? anything you want to discuss? Me: everything is fantastic! I'm very happy with my job :D Manager: cool cool... well let's do this again next month. Me: yay! I don't want someone in a similar situation like I was to get inspired by lists like these and go into their next 1on1 wrecking havoc…

What a strange, helpless way to look at the world. Employment is not a boss->servant relationship, it's a relationship where both parties gain something. You offer a service, and they pay for that. End of story. They act out? Then you find someone else who needs your services. As a programmer myself, I'm in this great position where there is a shortage of good developers, and plenty of companies searching for good de…

It's a realistic depiction of how this thing works (albeit for different reasons than the opposite of what you imply).

The issue is that employees, in general, are much, much worse at the employment game than their respective employer. This makes a lot of sense: Your employers job, after reaching some level, is to employ the right people (and even beyond that to hire the right people to hire the right people). That's it. That is all they do, all day.

Which leads to them getting good at everything involving the dance, including job negotiations and manipulating the employee/candidate in a way that serves their needs.

As a worker, your entire job is to do your job. No matter how many perks your company offers, getting better at your next salary negotiation will not be one of them. Of course, as a worker participates in this game more often, they gets better at it themselves – but there is no magic involved: It's a skill that you have to learn, in a very unfair and rigged setup.

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#99

Post by TeMPOraL »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #25

The best 1-on-1 meetings feel like a natural conversation between two professional adults. This list of questions can provide some ideas for starting points if you pick and choose carefully, but not all of the questions are a good idea. Specifically: While it's important to listen to your employee's complaints about the company, it's equally important to avoid giving them the wrong impression that you're going to fix…

Agreed, with perhaps a small wish of my own:

> Simple updates in the form of "Your work on X project is very important for the delivery of Y product, which the CEO identified as our top priority for retaining customers"

If, as a manager, you don't want me, your employee, to just smile politely and roll my eyes, make sure I can trust that when you say "top priority", then it's actually a top priority. Personally, I work better when I can identify and align myself with the goals of the organization (I'm a sucker for the "something greater"). But I hate the bullshit. "Your work on X is critical" is demotivating if I can tell that all work is described as "critical", and every project in the company is "top priority".

Re: 1-on-1 meeting questions

#100

Post by harikb »

divbzero wrote: post #70
RotaryTelephone wrote: post #63

My 1on1's at a 100k+ international corporation always went like this: Manager: so how's it going? Me: great Manager: any issues? anything you want to discuss? Me: everything is fantastic! I'm very happy with my job :D Manager: cool cool... well let's do this again next month. Me: yay! I don't want someone in a similar situation like I was to get inspired by lists like these and go into their next 1on1 wrecking havoc…

Agreed with parent to take 1 on 1’s lightly as just an avenue of conversation. If there is an adjustment you’d like to see, try to suggest it constructively and you don’t have to wait for a 1 on 1 to do so. That said, the “big list” here is directed towards managers and, for a manager, picking out one of these questions now and then as a conversation starter could uncover issues or opportunities that you could addres…

If my manager asked me all these questions every 1-on-1, I would be always feel unprepared and would shun future 1-1s. Sure one or two, to get the conversation going is ok.
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