One-on-One Key Points and Template
One-on-Ones work … there’s no doubt about that. Use the Adobe Acrobat file below to refresh yourself on some of the key points on conducting one-on-ones that we covered in the podcast, as well as recording each of your one-on-ones.
One-on-One Key Points and Preparation Form (PDF Format)
One-on-One Key Points and Preparation Form (Microsoft Word Format)
If you missed the podcasts (3 of them) on One-on-Ones, you can find them here:
December 9th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Hi,
I’m from the Philippines, and I’m a new subscriber to your wonderful and very practical podcast.
Some of what you’ve been teaching I’ve already been doing for a few years now, but this regular one-on-one is a new concept to me. I’ve been a project manager for IT for over 15 years, but I also have work with a non-profit organization. I can visualize how I can implement all the other corporate management tools in a non-corporate environment, except for this one.
I’m with a non-profit organization that will bid for a nationwide project involving the preparation of development plans for indigenous peoples, so some of the challenges of the project is that (1) people will be speaking different dialects, (2) direct reports are based in the field, and communication via cellphone or landline would be too prohibitive. Most of the sites are in remote areas (as in islands and mountains with minimal infrastructure) so less than 20% will have stable communication lines. I expect weekly reports from them which I expect that they will send by fax, but most of my monitoring will depend on actual site visits, which will probably average one site visit per quarter.
First of all, I only speak English and Tagalog. However, these are the secondary language of the people I need to communicate with.
I feel the need for one-on-one discussion because I do want to keep in touch, but I really can’t come up with a scenario on how to do this. Also, since I will also be on the road around 50% of the time, I am also getting headaches on how I can review the weekly reports, which wouldn’t be such a problem if I stay at the office. But site validation is unavoidable.
Any suggestions?
December 11th, 2005 at 3:31 pm
Beth-
Wow. I admire what you’re doing, and regardless of what techniques you use, I hope you are wonderfully successful.
My first suggestion is to let go of one on ones for now. The challenges you face in implementing are big enough that there doesn’t appear to be a way to make them work. And for now, that’s okay.
Let’s start by saying that one on ones exist to foster communication and to create a strong relationship between (usually) managers and subordinates. In the vast majority of cases (really, yours is my first “failure”!), the media for communication exist in SOME fashion to make it possible. In your case, that’s not so.
So, we go back to the larger question: what can you do, in THIS situation, to foster communication and strengthen relationships?
I think the answer is to ask that the faxes you get follow a certain format, and to commit to responding if that’s possible. The only specific formatting I can suggest is that you ask each site manager to include, every week, something about how they personally are doing. Family, free time, whatever. After a month or two of weekly faxes, I recommend you review all the faxes and see which ones (whose) have the best information to help you and them. Then, I would replicate that format across all other faxes. What’s more, I would share everyone’s fax with everyone else in some fashion. The slowest, simplest way is to simply make copies and provide them when you visit… but perhaps you can shorten them somehow and send them back out a week after you get them. That kind of cross communication I would think is terribly valuable, and I am guessing unlikely. If, because of THEIR situations, they can share them using some other technique besides fax, that’s great.
I would also ask each site manager to BRIEF you when you are there. Suggest an initial format, and then after 2-3 sets of visits, standardize the briefing format across all sites, and share all site briefs (even if just handwritten notes) across all other sites.
This is a start. Give me some feedback - it’s possible I didn’t understand exactly and these may not work.
THRILLED that you have a unique situation. Would be eager to continue helping any way we can.
It’s a privilege to serve you.
Mark
January 15th, 2006 at 11:25 am
Mark & Mike -
I discovered Manager Tools shortly after getting an Ipod back in October. It is now the primary podcast that I listen to while working out in the morning. I believe it is some of the best information I have come across and I appreciate the “here’s what you need to do vs. here’s what you should try to be” format.
The 3 part series on one-on-ones was excellent and I listened to it 3-4 times while formulating how I would implement it at work. I am now in the process of setting up my first round of one-on-ones with my direct reports. I look forward to letting you know how these progress.
Thanks for an excellent podcast.
January 16th, 2006 at 1:58 am
RudyH-
Thanks for the kind words! We look forward to hearing of your success with one on ones. Keep us posted.
It’s a privilege to serve you.
Mark
January 23rd, 2006 at 12:07 pm
Hi Mark and Mike,
I really enjoy this podcast I’ve discovered in October ‘05.
Before that, I thought I was from another planet in my company because :
1. I have been managing a team for 4 years and I have been doing O3s for 3 years and most of my chiefs/peers don’t do that
2. I always try to interact with my peers, team, chief and so on, mostly with communication based on facts
And by listening to the show, I recognized myself, in some level, in what you explain. But, as a matter of fact, I am only acting on the surface and have a long way to master what you tell us. So thanks for the great podcast, it’s so amazing !
Well, here is my question :
I’m french, and to my knowledge, speaking about personal things like spouse, children, animals, during a meeting like O3s would seem so weird… Is it appropriate if I stick to speaking about the “private” life part of my team during coffee breaks or such events ?
(And, Mark, write the book…)
–
Eric.
January 24th, 2006 at 12:54 am
Eric-
Glad you like the show! We appreciate the kind words and feedback.
It is hard to say whether or not, because you’re French, that it’s okay to preclude those things from discussion. I once had a manager tell me he wouldn’t discuss that because, “this is work and that is not and I would NEVER.” Well, his team thought he hated them, and performance suffered.
It seems to me that if you can talk to your team about family stuff during breaks, you can talk to them during one on ones. And remember - you DON’T have to ask about their family if THEY don’t bring it up. The meeting is about them, not you. If they don’t go there, you don’t have to either.
So, bottom line, what you’re suggesting is fine. I think you could, over time, eliminate this bias, and your team would benefit…but that’s for you to deal with.
That said, I’ve recently received feeback on the feedback model that a manager in Europe was excoriated for giving performance feedback to someone.
I am working on the book! I am working on the book! LOL.
Mark
January 24th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
Mark,
Thanks a lot for the quick and adequate answer.
And you’re right to emphasize the fact that they will bring the subject up if they want to. I had forget it. Now it seems less weird…
So I will gladly follow your advice, over time.
As for the book, this is good news, indeed.
–
Eric.
February 5th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
I have been doing one-on-ones for a while now, and agree with your ideas. I don’t seem to follow in a consistent manner though, which makes them less valuable. So I am going to give it a shot again with my new team, using your idea to write notes on paper.
I would like to be able to modify your template. Can you provide a Word or text version of it to save me the typing?
Thanks,
Phil
February 12th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Looking forward to implementing the 1 on 1s in three weeks. I have 6 direct reports, and each of them have 6 direct reports. Their DRs are field staff, and they spend 60%+ time out of the office, and their limited time in the office is maily for paperwork and/or service/customer interactions. Suggestions on helping them with their 1 on 1s with their teams?
February 13th, 2006 at 12:41 am
Frank-
Let us know how yours go! I’d recommend YOU doing O3s for 2-3 weeks with your DRs first, just to let them get the feel of it. It’s better for a lot of reasons for you to set the example and let them learn from you. They’ll appreciate it.
Regarding their O3s. Obviously, face to face meetings are IDEAL. But waiting to have a one on one when someone comes into the office is not always the way to do it.
So, they should do O3s over the phone. I think we talked about that on the cast. If you have questions, just shout. Everything is the same. I have noticed that the manager may have to remind DRs with phone O3s that the first 10-15 mins really ARE theirs… sometimes, if you don’t sit down with the boss, there’s a tendency to just think of it as another waterfall meeting with the boss.
Let us know how we can help. It’s a privilege to serve you.
Mark
February 19th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
I was convinced after listening to the pocasts you did on one-on-ones that this was something I HAD to start doing. I manage in a matrix environment where only a portion of my teams time is devited to the areas I manage. I’ve done this for three weeks now with the team-members who most affect this business. The payoff is not drastic, in a night & day type of change, but is significant in that the team has become more open about coming to me with their challenges as an opportunity to coach them. I have had to reschedule only one meeting and made a big point about how much I regretted doing it and that I would try to never do it again. My dedication to the one on ones and using a consistent easy format for communicating has communicated as much to the team as the one on ones themselves. People tend to pay more attention to what you do rather than what you say and following through on the one on ones and then the action items after them has gained me graet credibility and loyalty.
I’ll try to check back after a few months of doing this after I’ve transitioned to 1/2 hour times and have had a chance to roll it out to more of the team.
Keep up the great work - I listen now religiously and usually find at least one item in each podcast that I can start putting to use immediately. THANKS.
February 19th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
Brad-
Thanks for the kind words, and glad you’re getting value from our show.
You’re dead right - the dedication and the format are a process that create the opportunity for the real value - communication. That credibility and loyalty may not whack anyone over the head, but an aware manager will see all kinds of small changes that will make crises less likely and less significant.
It’s a privilege to serve you,
Mark
March 30th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
Mark and Mike,
Thanks a lot for all of the work that you put into this podcast. I started listening a couple of months ago. I get so much valuable information that I’ve downloaded all of your shows. I supervise 24 hourly workers on four different shifts in a 24/7 plastics manufacturing organization. My company has provided very little management training, especially in some of the soft but crucial areas that you discuss in your podcasts. So, in reality, your podcast has become my management training. For that, I thank you.
I also have a specific question about 1-on-1’s. I certainly see the value of implementing such a routine practice. Given the size of my organization, I am unsure of the direction to take. On each of the four shifts, there is a lead person who is responsible for the department and the five others on their shift in my absence. Administratively, however, all 24 people report to me. Would you recommend weekly 1-on-1s with all 24 people? Or would you focus on the lead persons on a weekly basis and the other people on a less frequent (say monthly)?
Thanks for any ideas. And please keep up the good work! Your podcasts have already made me a better manager! I’ve even passed on what I’ve learned to my boss - who is interested in listening to the podcast!
Best regards,
Rob
March 31st, 2006 at 3:40 am
Rob-
Thanks for the kind words! We’re thrilled we’re contributing to your development. It’s why we’re here.
Your situation falls into a bit of a grey area. Whether to have one on ones with everyone depends on several factors. Some of what I would like to know: who gives the annual reviews? What is the extent of the leads’ role? What is the most they do? Is there a union? That word administratively worries me… do the front line folks feel they report to their lead? What questions do they ask the lead versus you? How often are you seen on non day shifts? How much do you trust and believe in your leads? How often have leads been promoted to actual management roles? Is the lead running the WHOLE show on off shifts, or is there someone else there as well to whom the leads go to with operational issues? Will the leads rebel at having to get all touchy feely?
Sometimes I need to know ALL of that… sometimes just a couple of those questions’ answers are enough.
All that said, my bias is to recommend O3s with everyone. If you’re not certain, start that way, and if your schedule becomes impossible, consider asking the leads to step up. If that can’t happen, maybe it’s every two weeks.
If you want to answer all the questions, happy to give you more guidance.
Glad you’re a listener!
Mark
April 1st, 2006 at 6:11 pm
Mark,
Thanks for getting back to me. Here are some answers that I hope will help:
1) I give annual reviews. In fact, I’m working on them right now.
2) The leads direct their work day-to-day, especially when I am not in.
3) The most that the leads might do is deal with minor personnel issues. Anything major gets raised to my level to deal with.
4) There is no union.
5) All of the folks feel that they report to me. They would ask the leads about process issues or day-to-day priority issues. They deal with me about vacations, absences, performance issues, warnings, etc.
6) I work past of the night shifts at least one week per month. This is my opportunity to spend 8 - 12 hours per month with each of the night shifts.
7) I certainly trust the leads for process issues. Personnel issues are another story. I have as many interpersonal issues from the four of them as I have with everyone else.
8) Leads are pretty much no longer promoted to supervisor roles. The company tends to use engineers (like me) as supervisors - that way they can get technical work out of the position as well.
9) The leads are fully in control on the off-shifts - though they follow my directions and often call when a decision related to priority needs to be made.
10) Will the leads rebel… Interesting question. They may rebel because they feel that such personnel discussions should be my job, not theirs. We have a history of taking away their assistants and asking them to do more and be responsuble for more. Asking them to complete weekly O3s with their people would probably not be viewed positively by them.
I think that answers all of your questions. I think that you are still going to recommend that I do them with everyone. I do, however, cringe at the thought of trying to fit in 12 hours (plus prep and follow-up time) into my 40 hour week. But, a modified approach might work. Regardless, thanks for your help!!
Rob
April 1st, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Rob-
Thanks for all the answers! I’d say yes, you should be the one doing them. But with that many folks, do them every two weeks.
Now we’re only talking 6 hours plus… and I GUARANTEE you once you get over the intiial learning hump, you will be much more efficient. You will know a great deal more about your leads, and about who in the plant can do more and wants to do more.
Let us know how it goes!
April 10th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Mark,
I absolutely love the one on one guidance and am trying to get better at phrasing effective questions in these meetings by applying the DISC-based feedback model to them. However, the worksheet you provided (though a great starting point) really doesn’t help me phrase the questions appropriately for certain DISC types.
Any suggestions on how to better “finesse” the questions so that they are customized for a C vs. a D…?
Thanks for your wonderful service - keep up the excellent work!
Rob
April 10th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Rob-
Thanks for the kind words! Glad you’re benefiting.
There are some ways, and we do have plans to address your question. It’s not one that I can put in print in less than 500 hundred words, and we’re learning that sometimes subtleties don’t come across on paper.
The problem is that we could do 50 casts right now (trust me on this) on DiSC, and that would only begin to cover the depth necessary for so many routine situations. We have other topics to cover as well.
I admit, one way we’re thinking of speeding up the learning for DiSC-interested members is to sell a suite that covers everything, soup to nuts. We would probably release these gradually… but there’s just too much… we have 3 years laid out now.
I do have a quick idea: send me a few (A FEW!;-) examples of what you want to say, and I’ll translate them for you to get you started.
How’s that?
It’s a privilege to be helping you.
Mark
May 11th, 2006 at 3:33 am
Hello,
Thank you for the wonderful training. The feedback model has worked amazingly well with two “problem” employees.
I confess that I am supervisor and not really a manager, I value time with my family more than the higher paycheck and time requirements that comes along with becoming a manger.
My situation is strikingly, similar to that of Rob Bartlett. Little HR training on the important stuff, similar org structure, 24/7 operation. There are some differences. The leads that report to me are hourly employees. This means I can not have them do any coaching/discipline.
I like what you reccomend, however, I am not sure how to do it.
I supervise 28 direct labor employees across 2 shifts (3 job function groups per shift). The challange I see is that I do not know how to apply many of these skills to this many people that directly report to me.
As an example: How do I have regular one-on-ones with that many people and maintain my other workload? This would be an additional 8+ of time.
Maybe I am not productive enough with my time…
Is there a version of the skills you teach that are geared toward leading hourly employees?
May 11th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Hi Scurtland,
I’m in a similar situation as you - I have 22 direct reports. My solution is NOT to treat everyone equally. I give more attention to my high performing staff, or someone who needs growth.
Top performers get regular one-on-ones (every week or every other week). People who seem to be temporarily struggling or are just learning a new skill/role also get regular one-on-ones.
The middle-of-the-road and lower performers do not get one-on-ones. I believe I’ll get more productivity by growing my stars, than by trying to force a group to be avererage or slightly better than average.
Food for thought.
Led
May 21st, 2006 at 6:11 am
Hi Mark,
Great podcast on the 1:1’s. My situation is that I manage 6 managers, in 6 different countries (Denmark, India, Morocco etc) and non of them is native English, including myself. All of the 1:1’s are done over the phone and we try to have a face to face every quarter. Working through different time zones and language area’s over the phone brings a complete other set of challenges and it looks like this is becoming more an d more a reality in corporate life. Would be great if you can share you thoughts on how to manage international and remote teams though one of you shows.
Kind regards from Europe
Oskar
May 21st, 2006 at 11:10 am
Oskar-
Great post. We do have a show - perhaps several - queued up on international issues. It’s not easy, but it’s doable.
For now, definintely give a listen to our cast on managing virtual teams.
Mark
June 19th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Excellent podcast! Thank you much! Just a quick question, currently I have a few consultants that are currently reporting into me and I was wondering if I should also have 1:1’s with them. I feel that it would make sense since they are part of the team but just wanted to get your thoughts on this.
Regards,
Jeffrey
June 20th, 2006 at 4:36 am
Jeffrey-
Thanks for the kind words!
And yes, I recommend them. Many would say no, because (in my opinion) they have stupid rules about treating cosultants differently than employees. This is patently nonsensical. There are all kinds of things that exist that make the distinctions imminently clear… we don’t have to help.
THey work, they produce results that are valuable and that affect your results, and they report to you… go for it. 75% of them will love you for it.
It’s a privilege to serve you,
Mark
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:50 pm
Mark & Mike,
Echoing everyone’s sentiments, I believe without a doubt, this is one the better, if not best, Podcast – you have my vote!
For the past week, I’ve been commuting back and forth between the SF Bay Area and Fresno and have listened to your show exclusively. There is so much material covered in any of your Podcasts that I have to listen to them a few times just to make sure I don’t miss anything
I do have a question regarding managing virtual teams; I manage an IT engineering team of approximately 20 consultants, all with varying degree of skill sets and “character”. These folks are assigned to client sites and my challenge is meeting with them to conduct one on ones.
I’ve traveled to them and sat down for some short meetings, but what I’ve found is it consumes a large part of my day and while it’s a great morale booster for them, I find it’s a non efficient use of my day.
I could ask them to come in to meet with me, but that takes them away from their assignments; assignments which are prepaid by clients to be on site and working on maintaining and resolving the client’s IT infrastructure.
In a past company I focused my efforts on meeting and working with my high performers more closely than my junior folks. Shortly after joining this company, I met with many of my staff to understand their contributions - to clients, colleagues, and the company as well as their goals and any challenges they may have.
What I discovered are issues or deficiencies pertaining to processes, lack of clear communications, role definition, but the what jumped out at me was employee management was perceived largely as not a priority and therefore, all employees are in need of coaching, career development plans, feedback, etc.
Regards,
Martin
July 4th, 2006 at 3:27 am
Martin-
Thanks for the kind words! We’re glad you’re getting so much value out of our work! Perhaps our premium subscription will give you the supporting materials so you won’t necessarily have to listen over and over (no matter how flattered we are!)
If I understand you correctly, you’re saying that your employees need coaching and feedback, etc. That’s pretty normal. Earlier, though, you say that you spent some time with them, and it was a huge morale booster for them, and that boosting their morale was a waste of time for you?
I would argue that time with you is exactly what your team needs. I think it’s possible that they have sensed that you saw those early meetings as not effective for you, despite their interest, and now are perhaps watching you very closely to see whether you’re going to give them the coaching and development they want. If they see disengagement, the problems you see are likely to persist. If you re-engage, I suspect they’ll give you their best effort in many areas.
I would also suggest that one on ones need not be face to face. I would encourage you to go to the discussion forums and read many of the posts in the one on one category about how to do them and what others’ experiences are.
Do them over the phone. It works fine. Don’t make them about narrow project updates, and since development is needed, try harder to keep those last 10 minutes to talk about development plans, what they’re learning and applying.
I would also encourage you to listen to our podcast on virtual teams, where we talk about how to stay connected, and having team behaviors made clear, because, as you’ve noted, communication is much harder at a distance.
So: do one on ones by phone. Check out the forums. Check out the VT cast.
Keep us posted!
Mark
December 4th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
Hi Mark and Mike,
I’ve been listening to Manager Tools for over a year now, and absolutely love the cast. As a newly minted Doctor from Columbia U, I know the theory. Your work is incredibly valuable in helping me to turn that theory into action. Thanks and PLEASE keep it coming!
I recently accepted my first principalship at a medium-sized, suburban high school. In this role, I have many people who report directly to me. There are department chairs, who evaluate the staff in their departments. There are team leaders, who serve as the department “leaders” but do not evaluate staff. There’s the head custodian, the librarian, the athletic director, the two assistant principals… it’s quite a long list in an educational environment, where the hierarchy is pretty flat. I love the idea of one-on-ones and plan to begin them within 3 weeks (or just after the holidays) but I’m struggling to find a criterion I should use to determine who to include in the meetings. The Assistant Principals and the department chairs are obvious. The librarian and the athletic director are relatively obvious as well. I was thinking of beginning with the staff that has evaluative responsibilities, mainly because I don’t want to cast too wide a net in the beginning and have to cut-back down the line. Do you have any advice about ways to determine who should be included in the one-on-ones, at least initially?
I hope (and expect) that once they are underway, I’ll be inviting more of the building leaders to participate — but I want to do this in a manageable way that I can grow into, not the other way around.
Thanks for any feedback you can provide. Yes, you can give me some feedback
(I love the feedback model!)
Best wishes to you both!
Bryan
December 17th, 2006 at 2:18 am
Bryan-
Glad you’re with us! My niece just graduated from Columbia (Engineering), and I wonder if I attended YOUR graduation also.
If you took all the folks who reported to you, REGARDLESS of who of those have direct reports of their own, how many (and who) would that be?
My recommendation lacking that is to do O3s with all who report to you.
Mark
January 8th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Hi Mark
I hope you are still watching this post as I have a question about O3’s. One of my team members asked me about having our session in private. I’m trying to follow the not in public approach and have them at my desk. we work in an open concept office and anyone in the area can easily overhear what we are talking about. I like this as I feel it also includes the other team members and they can hear what is going on in others lives. As well they can hear about projects and successes. In general I find it helps keep us all in tune with each other.
What comments do you have about private O3’s, should I be running these in a meeting room or office? Or are my thoughts above valid. I really don’t want to alienate folks.
Thanks for the input.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Oh, I’m still around.
I don’t particularly think in private is necessary, but as long as logistics don’t hamper you, if you want to do that for this or all directs, there’s certainly nothing wrong with it.
If you miss two due to scheduling the room, you’ve got your priorities wrong.
Mark