How to Run 1:1s That Will Blow Your Manager’s Mind V1.0

1. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co How to Run 1:1s That Will Blow Your Manager’s Mind

2. Brief ● Most people either don’t have 1:1s with their manager or their 1:1s are a poor use of time. ● When done right, a 1:1 can be a huge source of leverage for the manager and a terriﬁc use of time for a subordinate to manage up, get feedback, learn, and get unblocked. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

3. What is a 1:1? ● A meeting ● Between a subordinate and a manager ● Usually recurring, most commonly every week, but can be as infrequent as every month Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

4. What’s the Goal? ● Guarantee a space for subordinate and manager to regularly communicate. ● For manager & subordinate to collect and convey information. ● To reduce reactivity and promote proactivity. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

5. Why 1:1s? ● Information exchange critical to eﬀectiveness. ● Structured forum for subordinate to manage up. ● High leverage (60-90 mins of mgr. time can enhance subordinate’s work for weeks). Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

6. How Often? ● Start every week. ● Task-Relevant Maturity (“TRM”); if high, less frequent. ● If feeling strapped for time: Stick to the schedule, but reduce scope Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

7. For How Long? ● 60 minutes minimum. ● Grove: “Enough time to broach and get into thorny issues.” ● Prefer longer 1:1s less often to frequent short 1:1s Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

8. Who Owns the Agenda? ● Subordinate. ● Why? Manager might have 8 1:1s, subordinate has only 1. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

9. Use a “Running Agenda” ● Can be spreadsheet or doc. Almost any tool will do. ● Must be shared and updated between 1:1s. ● Add all non-urgent things that come up between 1:1s to agenda instead of sending a Slack. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

10. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co What to Cover in a 1:1

11. Brief Status Report ● 5-10 mins ● Present progress on goals, KPIs, and action items from previous 1:1. ● Use a consistent format. ● Ask manager for what info. they’d like you to report on each 1:1. What to Cover? Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

12. Issues What to Cover in a 1:1? ● 15-30 mins ● Present problems and potential problems. ● Extra credit: present problem, range of solutions, and your recommended solution. ● But beware issues related to other employees and gossip… Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

13. ! Gossip ! What to Cover in a 1:1? ● Gossip: Any statement about another made by someone with negative intent…OR…any statement about another that the speaker would be unwilling to share in exactly the same way if that person were in the same room. ● Takes 2 to tango: the speaker (gossiper) and listener. “Many people choose to listen to gossip to avoid the discomfort of establishing a boundary.” Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

14. Questions What to Cover in a 1:1? ● What information do you need? ● Inﬁnite possibilities. ● Ask about: career, criteria for raise, company strategy, learning & development, how to work best with Barbara, etc. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

15. Performance Check-In What to Cover in a 1:1? ● Solicit feedback on your performance. ● How am I doing from 1-5? ● Pro Tip: Use a rubric breaking down your job responsibilities and ask for more granular 1-5 feedback each 1:1. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

16. Rubric? Like This! What to Cover in a 1:1? Image source: Faith Meyer, Job Responsibilities Rubric Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

17. Or This! What to Cover in a 1:1? Image source: Dave Kline, Expectations Template Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

18. Feedback What to Cover in a 1:1? ● Two way feedback. ● Manager and subordinate both share: ○ 1 thing they LIKED that the other person did since last 1:1 and ○ 1 thing the other person could IMPROVE. “The key is normalizing feedback, which entails not only providing feedback to your employee on their behavior, but also eliciting feedback from them about your own.”6 —Ed Batista Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

19. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co Sidebar: Radical Candor By Kim Scott

24. 1:1 Pitfalls ● Subordinate says, “I don’t have anything to talk about.” ● No regular feedback. ● Too short or too often. ● Manager drives agenda instead of subordinate. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

25. 1:1 Pro Tips ● Subordinate prepares status report & agenda in advance in a consistent format. ● Manager reads status report before 1:1. ● Subordinate reviews any relevant pipelines (sales, hiring, product roadmap, etc.) Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

26. Further Reading 1 Grove, Andy. High Output Management. 2 Scott, Kim. Radical Candor. 3 Mochary, Matt. The Great CEO Within. 4 Meyer, Faith. Job Responsibilities Rubric. 5 Kline, Dave. Expectations Template. 6 Batista, Ed. Group Dynamics: A Leader’s Toolkit. 7 Dethmer, Jim; Chapman, Diana; Klemp, Kaley. The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. 8 Evanish, Jason. 150+ One on One Meeting Questions Great Managers Ask. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co

27. Created By Andy Sparks @SparksZilla andysparks.co The End. ● Help improve this resource by emailing suggestions to hi@andysparks.co. ● If you found this helpful, share it far and wide to help make work less painful.

How to Run 1:1s That Will Blow Your Manager’s Mind V1.0

How to Run 1:1s That Will Blow Your Manager’s Mind V1.0

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How to Run 1:1s That Will Blow Your Manager’s Mind V1.0