How to Improve Team Dynamics with 1-on-1s

When I do 1:1s with my reports, I explicitly tell them, “No status updates”. We have emails, slack channels, and team meetings (ideally as the pre-read, not the meeting itself) for status updates. Our 1:1 is for you. At all times, I’ve got a mental model of how you are doing in each of the PM competency areas* . I know what types of projects I can steer or delegate to you, either because it’s a strength of yours or because it’s something to get better at. I also know (because I’ve asked you!) what your career goals are, so I can fold that into our conversations and opportunities. I also have a 1:1 agenda doc that we both have access to. Throughout the week, either of us can pop in there and add a keyword or phrase to the doc, to remind ourselves of the thing to talk about. Our agenda topics usually fall into these categories: 1. Relationship and trust building — what makes you tick, what feels rewarding, what is scary, and why? My goal, in addition to getting to know you better, is to create a psychologically safe environment that allows you to be vulnerable so that you actually tell me this stuff, tell me bad news when you learn it, and ask for help. 2. Coaching and reinforcement — what happened in the last week that showcased a theme we’ve been working on? What was a time when you did something awesome (or at least, better) that we want to celebrate*? 3. “How can I help?” — you want my help solving some problem, or have some question in search of an answer. Or maybe the reverse: I’ve noticed a problem that I want you to solve (or, I have something that I want your help solving), or I have a question that you may be able to answer. But before all of that, I’m opening with “How are you?” Sometimes, your answer makes clear that we’re going to do none of our agenda because of Feelings* . You’re pissed that other people are getting in the way, you’re anxious about the latest layoff rumor, you’re scared after a meeting with Exec that went poorly. I’m listening, asking questions, engaging, validating your feelings*. I will make a snap call — are you open to problem solving the situation in this meeting, or should we come back to it another time? Emotional attunement (with boundaries!) is the answer, once again. (Thank you, Dan Storms, for requesting this topic!) —————— *If you’re interested in reading the footnotes as well as my work-in-progress thoughts (today: why are so many managers bad at managing?), sign up for my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/g44P3_rB

Monday Momentum: One Question Worth Asking Next time you schedule a 1-1 with a teammate, employee, or collaborator, try this: Ask them to bring one topic - whatever they think is the most important thing to talk about right now. Then say: “If there’s something that makes you feel nervous or uncomfortable to bring up, that’s probably the thing we should lean into.” And here’s the kicker: your only job is to ask follow-up questions. No fixing. No rushing to solve. No hijacking the mic. Discomfort is a compass. The conversations we avoid are often where the breakthroughs live. And the most powerful solutions are the ones people discover for themselves, when they’re finally given space to speak the truth. H/T to Fierce Conversations. I’ve used this method for years, and it’s led to some of the most transformative 1-1s of my career. #leadership #culture #mondaymomentum #emotionalintelligence #teamdevelopment

I was supposed to be the CEO building a billion-dollar venture studio. Supporting my partners, solving problems, and helping them scale. Instead, I got caught up in the day-to-day of my companies. I was being ineffective. Working in the businesses instead of on them. So I changed it. And now I’m a better resource for my partners and in my zone of genius. Here’s how: – 1. Ruthlessly cut calendar I worked with my amazing assistant, Patricia, to move all meetings to Mondays and Fridays. I truly believe that with a structured and focused 1-on-1 meeting, you can solve anything. Anything that didn’t contribute to the goals at GatewayX or my portfolio companies was removed (with compassion). I moved all my CEO 1-on-1’s to either Monday or Friday. It helps to be on the bookends of the week so they can either get input on this week's goals or do a debrief on what happened. This gave me the flex time needed during the middle of the week to: + Unblock a problem for a CEO + Give feedback + Finish checklist 2/ Structured communication internally I’d be getting slacks, texts, emails, calls - and this is just from my team! Not to mention the emails and DMs I might be getting from external. So, I set up a super straightforward way for us to communicate internally. I put everything into one of 3 buckets: 1. Comms 2. Requests 3. Meetings I pride myself on being responsive and available so I always have my CEOs: a) text/call when they need something real time b) always ASK me to cc: my assistant for scheduled time when they need it or are blocked. c) Not look at my calendar and conclude I'm too busy, I worry about that :) 1. Comms.  In general, here are ideal channels for the type of communication: + Slack - quick sync/internal comms (<5 mins) or where we want others to easily follow. Also internal scheduling requests. + Text - fast/urgent and super short + Call - urgent and/or to discuss something >5 mins + Zoom - more organized presentation for review etc + Email - async review and/or external 2. Requests For an async REQUEST thats >5 mins: a) EMAIL it to me and cc Patricia b) in the SUBJECT include a deadline + level of importance (0-10) + type of work you're seeking c) Patricia or I will confirm the deadline/request or ask for another date d) If urgent or the above process isn't a fit, just call me/text me. 3. Meeting Agenda/Prep - I ask everyone to share an agenda the day before for any given mtg and include any pre-read materials or something else they want me to be prepared to discuss. Examples of agenda questions/items to share: + Topics of discussion? + What is success in this mtg/convo? + What would make the mtg a 10/10? + What decisions are being made and who is making them? – I think of myself as a “servant” to my CEO’s. I need to show up for them and I need them to ask what they need from me. They are not reporting to me, I’m serving them. Trust me, it’s not perfect, but it’s made everyone’s life a whole lot easier.

Want to know how to have killer 1 on 1 meetings? Here's my framework i've been using for the past 10 years: 1. Start every meeting w/ personal Life. I use this to discuss any good/bad issues going on in my employees life. I also discuss personal goals they are trying to achieve. I'm keenly aware that I'm stewarding people for a season so I want to make sure I'm their biggest advocate for any of their life goals. This also gives me a pulse on how they are doing personally. If they are struggling I can give them time off or help them manage their work schedule accordingly. 2. Let them bring up any issues or questions they have. I typically want them to set the work agenda before I give them any new tasks. High performers typically don't need me to tell them what to do. They need my resources or authority to get them what they need. 3. I recast vision of why they are doing what they are doing. Whether it's current projects or new projects I assign, I constantly cast vision. 4. I give them feedback on how they are doing. People want to know if they are performing well. So I make sure to end every meeting with feedback. Small caveat: If i's a huge constructive feedback I will circumvent the process and do this after personal stuff has been addressed. What's a great tip you have for 1on1's? #doublewin #fullfocus

“How do I make my 1:1s with my manager more impactful?” is a question I commonly get from mentees. Too often, these meetings become simply a reporting of activities completed in the previous week. As one mentee jokingly shared, it can sometimes feel like telling your parents what you did at school that day. 😄 That’s not quite the best use of time for either you or your manager, even though keeping your manager informed *is* important. So how do you achieve the goal of sharing information but also balancing it out with some strategic discussions? Try the PPP framework, which I learned from the brilliant Brinda Mehta Malvi. PPP stands for: - Plans and priorities for the week - Progress and highlights from last week - Problems and open Qs or roadblocks you anticipate or might need help with. This allows for you and your manager to align on priorities for the week ahead. You can surface any highlights and wins for their awareness. And it allows you both to proactively talk through any future risks. Now your 1:1 goes from one-way reporting to rich discussions at a more strategic level. It’s win-win for both of you. If you give it a try, will you let me know if it helps? #leadership #1on1

The one thing I wish I would have started sooner as a manager… One on One’s (I call them O3’s). I went for years without O3’s.. my thinking was that since I met with my team almost daily, we didn’t need a dedicated individual meeting. What I realized later is that the most important communication that happens in an O3 almost never happens in a team meeting. Here’s a simple framework if you want to get started: 1. Have a 30-minute O3 (one on one) with each team member that reports to you. Weekly or Bi-Weekly. It must be scheduled and recurring (not ad-hoc). 2. The first half is for the other team member. They can bring up anything they want. A project, a frustration, their cat’s diet 😸. 3. The next half is for me. I keep a running note for each team member and log things to bring up in the O3. 4. Sometimes we use the whole 30 minutes… sometimes we’re done at 10 minutes. Either is fine. To me, having a regularly scheduled One On One (O3) is the Minimum Viable Product of management. It’s where you start. Any one on one tips?

Hi all! Continuing from last week, the main thing to remember about one-to-ones is that you need to have them. For context, here’s a gross oversimplification of my experience with one-to-ones in agencies. I suspect you may have a similar story. Once a year, I’d have my performance review. (And when I say once a year, that year could be 14 months long.) At that annual-ish review, my boss would sit me down, tell me some things that I was doing well, and some things that I was not doing so well. Those things could have happened at any time over the last 12 (or 14, or 18) months. I could have addressed them long ago, or they could be recent. There was no discussion of how to build on the positive feedback and grow my career, or put together a plan to learn from the negative. Then my boss would say thank you and give me some more money. Or, if the list of things I wasn’t doing so well was longer than that other list, my boss would say thank you and not give me some more money. And if that list was significantly longer, my boss might say thank you and show me the door. Now, while that was (as promised) a gross oversimplification, like all great creative, it’s based in the truth and common experience. So, the first thing about one to ones is that you need to have them. On a regularly scheduled basis. Ideally every week at the same time.   Every two weeks at an absolute maximum.  Once a year (or 14 months, etc.) is right out.  Here’s a few more nuts-and-bolts: I know that everyone is busy (everyone is always busy), and one-to-ones may be new to many folks on your team, so half an hour is plenty. You can always add extra time if you need it. I also try to schedule mine for the beginning of the week. People tend to be less busy on a Monday before their projects kick in. They may have things that they’ve been thinking about over the weekend that are still fresh. And I find that they themselves are fresher and more open to talking on a Monday or Tuesday than they are on Thursday or Friday when they’re worn down from the grind of the week, or their minds are already on the weekend. I also try to be mindful of the time of day — I’ve found that people tend to be more receptive in the mornings before they’ve become wrapped up in the work of the day, or find themselves running behind as a result of it. I never schedule one-to-ones at 11:30am because people are hungry. I never schedule them at 1pm because people are full. And please, never ever, ever schedule a one-to-one over lunchtime unless you are actually taking the person to lunch. Because that’s just mean. And as a creative leader you can be firm. You can give direction that your team doesn’t agree with. You can give them news that they don’t want to hear. But you don’t ever get to be mean (also, that’s the exact opposite of the point of one-to-ones). Lots more on one-to-ones to come, thanks as always for following along. Kevin #leadership #creativity #marketingandadvertising #management

For 20+ years, I have led high-performing teams. Ready to find out how I do it? There are many possible actions a leader can take to create successful teams, from scheduling 1:1s... to encouraging risks... to celebrating wins. Each action stacks on top of another, allowing for powerful results. Unfortunately, the sheer number of possible actions can feel confusing, if not overwhelming. I have found it helpful to group different actions into the following categories: 🚀 Engage 🚀 Educate 🚀 Empower And I ask myself the following question: 🚀 Which is the result that I want to affect? Engage A happy team is an engaged team. If you want each person to feel connected, motivated, and valued, then you must create a positive and inclusive environment. • Build trust through reliable, consistent, and authentic interactions. The team needs to know that your actions and words align with one another. • Communicate with transparency. People are quite adept at sensing half-truths and hidden information, which result in worry and gossip rather than focusing on tasks. • Motivate by acknowledging and celebrating successes. • Set a recurring schedule of 1:1s. These are the most important meetings you can have with each person! Educate Prepare the team to meet current and future, unforeseen challenges with new skills and knowledge. There must exist a culture of continuous learning. • Identify gaps, and then train, coach, and set new challenges. You want to minimize missing skills, knowledge, and experience. • Provide feedback, both the positive and the negative. Successes become repeatable actions. Failures are remedied. • Create opportunities for each person to advance towards their professional goals. • Share knowledge with the free flow of information between employees. Encourage questions and create a written repository of documented knowledge accessible to everyone. Empower Individuals should have the knowledge and inspiration to solve hard problems. They should own the outcomes. • Foster an environment of autonomy, allowing each person to work independently toward goals. • Give support as the team works towards goals. However, do not micromanage! There are many paths to reach a goal, not one path set by you. • Provide the tools for each person to succeed in their role. • Recognize each person's unique strengths, and provide opportunities for projects, tasks, and responsibilities that tap into the strengths of the individual. These three points have constituted my leadership strategy for years and years. It provides the right framework to pinpoint what results I want to achieve for a more successful, resilient team. PS. Which of these categories would help your team the most? 🔔 Follow Chris Cotter for more on #leadership.