Submitted by paulk on
in
Forums
I have a situation in which my direct reports and I work very closely together every day. We are in contact and communicate regularly about work and personal topics like family, health, etc. I am finding it very difficult to stick to the regularly structured format of the O3's because we have already touched on the personal topics. I am struggling with how I should conduct the rest of the one-on-one session. Thoughts / comments are encouraged.
Thank you,
Paul
You could always start in on
You could always start in on politics and religion...that'll fill up your time. :-)
I actually talk with my directs about personal stuff quite a bit as well, family, hobbies, etc... One thing that M&M mentioned is to always start off with the same question. I started doing that and these o3s are starting to feel like I'm pulling soldiers in from fighting a war to hunker down in my foxhole with me briefly to get an update as to how he/she is doing in the war, trying to get a sense of their mental well-being, finding any challenges they are having with work, etc...
Probably not what you were hoping for, but just some observations from my o3 meetings.
Joe
Career Trajectory...
You could talk about their aspirations. Where does each of your directs gain the greatest satisfaction in work AND how to help each one get there? What areas are there for a top performer to improve and be even better?
You can share company strategy and then noodle around how their role fits into the company's goals. As M&M explain in the podcasts: the focus is on the direct.
Coaching
O3s are also the vehicle for delivering the coaching model.
Career Trajectory
TLHousmann,
Thank you for your inut. I like the approach of asking about their aspirations and what brings them the greatest satisfaction. I will use these suggestions in my next O3.
Paul