This guidance describes if and how to use lists and agendas during your One on Ones.

We get questions all the time about lists and agendas during One on Ones. Here are the answers.

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance tells you what to do when directs resist One on Ones because they are a form of “micromanaging.”

What do you do when one of your directs complains that they don’t need/want/like One-on-Ones because they say they’re a form of micromanagement? Are they right? What the heck IS micromanagement, anyway? Can I leave them out of the process?

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance completes our recommendations on how to do One on Ones while you are traveling.

Many managers tell us they can’t do One on Ones because they travel too much. Mark laughs at this, having missed maybe 2-3 O3s in 20 years while logging millions of seat miles in the air. Here’s how to do it right.

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance recommends how to do One on Ones while you are traveling.

Many managers tell us they can’t do One on Ones because they travel too much. Mark laughs at this, having missed maybe 2-3 O3s in 20 years while logging millions of seat miles in the air. Here’s how to do it right.

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance tells you how to avoid the mistake of “Agenda Fascism” in One on Ones

We made up the term “Agenda Fascism”. It means demanding someone follow an agenda even when doing so defeats the purpose of the agenda. Many managers mistakenly practice agenda fascism in their One on Ones. Here’s how it happens, and how to avoid it.

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance tells you how to do One on Ones with your directs who work a different shift than you do.

One of the common reasons we get for NOT doing One on Ones is that some managers have folks working on different shifts than they themselves work. After we get over being nonplussed, we tell the manager it can be done easily. They tell us their directs don’t actually WANT time with their boss.

But trust us, they do. Here’s how.

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance describes some simple improvements most managers can make to help them take better notes during their One on Ones.

Sometimes pedestrian things loom large. One on Ones are the most important recommendation we make. We get LOTS of questions about them. In the forums, from clients, in email, and at conferences. Over the years, we've gotten used to being asked about how to take notes, or, often, how does Mark take notes during HIS O3s?

What's funny about this is the sense we get that some very simple operational details seem to really capture people's attention. Herewith, then, are our simple note taking recommendations that we love and others swear by too.

  [Play in Popup]

This cast concludes our guidance on the right way to conduct One on Ones with your contract employees.

We always recommend one on ones for directs. Always. But, in most organizations there are plenty of not crystal clear relationships. There are project managers, and other managers we do admin stuff with, but maybe we never see them.

It makes it messy. We define your directs as those folks who would think of you as their primary boss, OR that you would write the end of year review for, and be the primary person discussing pay with.

The issue with all of these concepts is that we often have to create things to look at to help us decide, but things like reviews and pay are really PROXIES. What really matters – even though it can be confusing at times, is: whom do you supervise whose work makes a significant difference in your ability to deliver the results that the organization needs?

Which opens the door for contract employees. You supervise their work, and they do make a significant difference in your outcome. Can you, and if you can, HOW do you have Contract One on Ones? And, are there laws to consider?

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance describes the right way to conduct One on Ones with your contract employees.

We always recommend one on ones for directs. Always. But, in most organizations there are plenty of not crystal clear relationships. There are project managers, and other managers we do admin stuff with, but maybe we never see them.

It makes it messy. We define your directs as those folks who would think of you as their primary boss, OR that you would write the end of year review for, and be the primary person discussing pay with.

The issue with all of these concepts is that we often have to create things to look at to help us decide, but things like reviews and pay are really PROXIES. What really matters – even though it can be confusing at times, is: whom do you supervise whose work makes a significant difference in your ability to deliver the results that the organization needs?

Which opens the door for contract employees. You supervise their work, and they do make a significant difference in your outcome. Can you, and if you can, HOW do you have Contract One on Ones? And, are there laws to consider?

  [Play in Popup]

This guidance concludes our discussion on how to learn about your skips and develop your direct report managers by discussing your skips on a regular basis.

We get asked all the time, "Should I have One on Ones with the directs of my directs? If relationships are good, relationships with everyone in my organization would be very good, right?" By this reductio ad absurdum logic, of course, the CEO "should" be having One on Ones with everyone, right?" That math doesn't work, and so the only question becomes, where to draw the line.

Others ask us, "How CAN I have One on Ones with my skips? I can barely fit in my directs' One on Ones. This is killing me!" Well, we don't know what else to say, but thank you for making our point to the other guys, and hey, we never told you to have O3s with your skips anyway. But, alas, one of our listeners and good friends tells us we once said the only day of the week to have O3s was Thursday. Whoa. I think what we said was only have One on Ones on days that end in Y.

It boils down to: What do we do about cultivating some sort of knowledge about our skips, for whose work we are responsible?

An even smarter question is How do I get the most out of my entire organization? It's not enough to see them in groups, as we recommend in our Skip Level Meetings guidance. How can we consider them wisely in our succession planning? Because, you know, you're supposed to be thinking about succession planning for your directs' positions, right?

  [Play in Popup]