Why are 1:1's important?
Why 1:1s Are Essential for Effective Leadership
Lately, I have been speaking with people who are interviewing for tech jobs. There is one question that I consistently hear answers to that lacks depth.
The Question: Why are 1:1's important?
The Power of 1:1s
Let’s start here. They are! And this is why.
The 2nd level of leadership is leading with people's permission. In other words, people follow you because they want to, not because they have to. To lead with someone’s permission, you have to build trust and genuinely care, not only about their career but care about them as humans. Your 1:1 with them is your opportunity to get to know them and build trust, which is the most fundamental aspect of leadership. If you don't lead with people's permission, then you "lead" them through your position or power. How well do you respond when someone tries to lead you by positional power?
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The Structure of Effective 1:1s
The 1:1 is THEIR meeting, NOT YOURS (it is not the manager's meeting). I like to go into the meeting with a loose structure of 10 minutes for them, 10 minutes for me, and 10 minutes for coaching. But it is okay if we don’t get to everything. Context is everything!! EQ is most important!! You want to get them talking. You want them to talk about themselves outside of work. Who are they? What is happening in their life? Do they have personal goals? Do they like the TV show Bluey more than their children do? I mean, of course they do, but let's get back on track.
Building Trust and Empathy
From the leader's perspective, every conversation, including 1:1s, is another opportunity to provide clarity, strategic context, and perspective that can empower people to make great decisions and build valuable and viable products.
The Impact of Genuine Care
It is absolutely incredible how far you can get as a leader by simply caring about another human and providing as much context as possible to the goals they are trying to solve.
Call to Action
I challenge you to rethink your approach to 1:1s. Make them meaningful, make them personal, and watch how your team's trust and performance grow. Share your experiences or tips in the comments below!
Great post. It's amazing how 1:1 meetings are sometimes wasted on the wrong things, not done often enough, or not done at all. They are essential to leading the people in our care.