Managers, Make 1–1 Meetings Matter

It’s crucial for psychological well-being that people stay connected but right now creating and maintaining relationships with your staff may be a challenge. 1–1 meetings focused on your direct report helps bridge that connection. Here’re a few things I keep in mind:

1. Be consistent: The follow-through shows your reports that they’re important. Plus, it’s a time to connect on an individual level with your team so don’t cancel and respect start and end times.

2. Be real: Conference call backgrounds are handy for lightening things up or covering a mess. But when your team sees you in your authentic environment, they know you’re in the trenches with them.

3. Be connected: Demonstrate compassion and care by reframing the standard “how are you?” For example: Share an experience about your week and ask “where’s your head at?” to identify what’s top of mind for them. If there’s a tendency towards status reporting, steer the conversation to a prepared list of other topics.

4. Be present: If you’re using video, focus on the meeting. What you’re looking at is visible to the person on the other end. The best thing you can do is to be in the moment, so even if you think you’re really good at multitasking, don’t do it.

5. And one for you: Take a break (from video): Video is great because you can see the person in front of you. However, with hours of video calls a day, a phone call could be a welcome change; it also gets you moving around the house or for a walk outside.

Keep notes for feedback and for performance reviews and follow up on the subjects discussed in subsequent meetings. The model 1–1 engages your team members, gives them something useful for next steps, and allows you to hear from your team. Making small changes can help you get them right.