Effective One-on-One Meetings
Course Summary
The 101 on One-on-Ones
“The 1:1 is not an informal chat – it’s an opportunity to connect deeply with your team members and understand their challenges and aspirations.” - Andy Grove, High Output Management
When one-on-ones are done well, they build trust, improve performance, and strengthen relationships between managers and their teams.
One-on-ones are most effective when they are employee-driven, not manager-led. The employee should do most of the talking, managers should do more listening and guiding.
Consistently showing up for one-on-ones shows your employees that you care and that they’re a priority. Canceling, rescheduling, or being late sends the opposite message—and over time, it can erode trust and engagement.
The Agenda (that builds agency)
Consider starting meetings by asking: “What’s the most important thing you would like to talk about today?” This allows the employee to discuss the item that is taking up most of their mental capacity, and they will be more engaged once this has been discussed.
Employees thrive with predictability. Use an agenda on a shared document to record meeting notes.
The top 5 things employees wonder are 1) How am I doing? 2) How is our company doing? 3) What are our goals and strategy? 4) What are others working on? 5) How do you plan to coach and develop me?
To Delegate or Not to Delegate
Use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you prioritize your workload and determine what to delegate.
Empowering employees focuses on the “what.” Micromanaging employees focuses on the “what” and the “how.”
The Skill/Will Matrix is tool you can use to determine actions you can take on an employee based on their skill level and will level. This is also helpful in determining who you can delegate tasks and projects to.
Providing Clear Support
The 3AM Test is a simple way to check whether your team clearly understands key priorities. If someone asked them at 3AM, “What are our team’s goals and top priorities?”—could they answer confidently?
It helps managers spot misalignment, clarify expectations, and ensure the team is focused on the right things. When everyone is on the same page, it’s easier to work with purpose, make decisions, and move in the same direction.
When expectations, responsibilities, or goals are unclear, it becomes difficult to hold people accountable for their work. Without clarity, individuals may not fully understand what is expected of them, which can lead to confusion, misalignment, and a lack of ownership over tasks or outcomes.
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