How to Transform 1:1 Meetings

The most underleveraged growth hack in any company is this: How the leadership team runs their meetingsMost leaders sit through 8–10 meetings a week and walk away with updates, opinions, and half-decisions. Rarely do they leave with clarity, momentum, or measurable action. I coach CEOs to treat meetings like product sprints—designed, tested, and optimized—because your meeting hygiene is a direct reflection of your company culture and strategic thinking. Let’s deconstruct how elite CEOs run meetings that move billion-dollar machines—so you can apply it to your 5-person team or your 5,000-person org. 1. Start with first principles. (Jensen Huang – NVIDIA) Before any ideation, ask: “What do we know for sure? What’s just noise or assumption?” When you strip discussions down to evidence and truths, you avoid solving the wrong problem with brilliant ideas. Clarity before creativity. Always. 2. Cap meetings at 30 minutes. (Tim Cook – Apple) Every minute over 30 without a decision-maker in the room is a tax on productivity. If there’s no owner or desired outcome → cancel it or convert it to async. Time is your highest-leverage resource. Use meetings to compress decisions—not stretch them. 3. Put the customer in the room. (Lisa Su – AMD) Start every meeting by grounding the discussion in a user story, customer tension, or market shift. Every strategic choice should begin with the end user—not internal politics. If you’re not customer-driven, you’re ego-driven. There’s no in-between. 4. Anchor every discussion to one metric. (Safra Catz – Oracle) Great meetings aren’t just about ideas—they’re about impact. So start with: “What are we trying to move?” This turns vague alignment into concrete execution. 5. Always end with a 48-hour action lock. (Sundar Pichai – Google) No meeting is done until: -One person owns the next step -The deliverable is clearly defined -A timeline under 48 hours is locked Momentum dies in ambiguity. Good leaders close meetings. Great leaders create follow-through. 6. Listen like a leader, not a judge. (Satya Nadella – Microsoft) The smartest person in the room doesn’t speak first—they synthesize. Paraphrase what you heard. Ask questions that deepen thought. Cut with clarity. You don’t earn trust by having answers. You earn it by making people feel heard and guided, not managed. If your meetings feel heavy, it’s a culture issue. If they feel aimless, it’s a clarity issue. Either way—it’s a leadership issue. #CEOHabits #LeadershipSystems #StrategicExecution #MeetingMastery #CeoCoach #HighPerformanceLeadership #TimeLeverage #OrganizationalDesign

Ever notice how some leaders seem to have a sixth sense for meeting dynamics while others plow through their agenda oblivious to glazed eyes, side conversations, or everyone needing several "bio breaks" over the course of an hour? Research tells us executives consider 67% of virtual meetings failures, and a staggering 92% of employees admit to multitasking during meetings. After facilitating hundreds of in-person, virtual, and hybrid sessions, I've developed my "6 E's Framework" to transform the abstract concept of "reading the room" into concrete skills anyone can master. (This is exactly what I teach leaders and teams who want to dramatically improve their meeting and presentation effectiveness.) Here's what to look for and what to do: 1. Eye Contact: Notice where people are looking (or not looking). Are they making eye contact with you or staring at their devices? Position yourself strategically, be inclusive with your gaze, and respectfully acknowledge what you observe: "I notice several people checking watches, so I'll pick up the pace." 2. Energy: Feel the vibe - is it friendly, tense, distracted? Conduct quick energy check-ins ("On a scale of 1-10, what's your energy right now?"), pivot to more engaging topics when needed, and don't hesitate to amplify your own energy through voice modulation and expressive gestures. 3. Expectations: Regularly check if you're delivering what people expected. Start with clear objectives, check in throughout ("Am I addressing what you hoped we'd cover?"), and make progress visible by acknowledging completed agenda items. 4. Extraneous Activities: What are people doing besides paying attention? Get curious about side conversations without defensiveness: "I see some of you discussing something - I'd love to address those thoughts." Break up presentations with interactive elements like polls or small group discussions. 5. Explicit Feedback: Listen when someone directly tells you "we're confused" or "this is exactly what we needed." Remember, one vocal participant often represents others' unspoken feelings. Thank people for honest feedback and actively solicit input from quieter participants. 6. Engagement: Monitor who's participating and how. Create varied opportunities for people to engage with you, the content, and each other. Proactively invite (but don't force) participation from those less likely to speak up. I've shared my complete framework in the article in the comments below. In my coaching and workshops with executives and teams worldwide, I've seen these skills transform even the most dysfunctional meeting cultures -- and I'd be thrilled to help your company's speakers and meeting leaders, too. What meeting dynamics challenge do you find most difficult to navigate? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments! #presentationskills #virualmeetings #engagement

One of the most frequently missed opportunities I’ve seen over the course of my career is the 1:1 meeting with leadership. Too often, these potentially vital touch points become mere status updates about ongoing projects. There are 3 things I do that truly makes these 30 minutes super valuable: 1. Set a crisp and clear agenda for the meeting. Share it beforehand with your leader, whether it's a weekly manager check-in or a skip-level meeting. Break it down into clear sections and start by stating your desired outcomes for those 30 minutes. 2. Tag, categorize, and stack rank each agenda item. I use these 5 categories in all my 1:1 docs: 📌 [Top of Mind] - Exchange of current priorities and pressing concerns 🔔 [Update] - Project progress and OKR tracking 🙏🏼 [Ask] - Where I need help, blockers, advice on tricky situations 📝 [Career] - Growth discussions, aspirations, and development paths 🏃♂️ [Ops] - Tactical discussions, escalations, challenges, and operational needs 3. Track action items. Document specific follow-ups for both you and your leader. These can range from immediate project needs to long-term career development goals. Make sure you don’t just let these go into the void and follow up on them during subsequent 1:1s or over Slack/email. 💡 Pro Tip: Type "@notes" in Google Docs to instantly generate a meeting notes template to help you track your recurring 1:1s. 📲 What is the one key thing you do during 1:1s with your leader (or subordinate) that makes the meeting worthwhile? 

Why I Broke Up with Weekly 1-1s ? When I transitioned into a leadership role at Microsoft Dynamics CRM, I embraced weekly 1-1s like everyone else. It seemed essential—a place to align, mentor, and build connections. But over time, I noticed something unsettling. These meetings became repetitive. Status updates dominated, deeper conversations got sidelined, and team-wide alignment wasn’t improving. My gut told me I was solving the wrong problems in the wrong forum. So, I made a bold decision: I completely reimagined how I approached 1-1s. Here’s what I changed and learned: 1) Transparency Beats Isolation I shifted project discussions out of 1-1s and into team settings. Instead of solving issues privately, we addressed them collectively. This made expectations clearer, improved collaboration, and turned “my problem” into “our solution.” 2) 1-1s Are for Depth, Not Updates When I stopped using 1-1s for operational check-ins, they became spaces for meaningful conversations—personal growth, career goals, and feedback. Instead of weekly sessions, monthly deep dives worked better. Ad hoc chats filled the gaps when needed. 3) Connection Happens Daily, Not Just in Meetings If 1-1s are your only relationship-building tool, something’s missing. Real connection happens in the flow of work—joining team discussions, being present during problem-solving, or simply checking in informally. The result? My team gained clarity, took ownership, and grew closer. We didn’t just save time—we built trust. Ask yourself: Are your 1-1s helping your team grow, or are they just a box you check every week? How do you approach 1-1s in your role? Let’s discuss what works for you. #Leadership #TeamManagement #Rethinking1on1s

If your one-on-ones are primarily status updates, you're missing a massive opportunity to build trust, develop talent, and drive real results. After working with countless leadership teams across industries, I've found that the most effective managers approach 1:1s with a fundamentally different mindset... They see these meetings as investments in people, not project tracking sessions. Great 1:1s focus on these three elements: 1. Support: Create space for authentic conversations about challenges, both professional and personal. When people feel safe discussing real obstacles, you can actually help remove them. Questions to try: "What's currently making your job harder than it needs to be?" "Where could you use more support from me?" 2. Growth: Use 1:1s to understand aspirations and build development paths. People who see a future with your team invest more deeply in the present. Questions to explore: "What skills would you like to develop in the next six months?" "What parts of your role energize you most?" 3. Alignment: Help team members connect their daily work to larger purpose and meaning. People work harder when they understand the "why" behind tasks. Questions that create alignment: "How clear is the connection between your work and our team's priorities?" "What part of our mission resonates most with you personally?" By focusing less on immediate work outputs and more on the human doing the work, you'll actually see better performance, retention, and results. Check out my newsletter for more insights here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju #executiverecruiter #eliterecruiter #jobmarket2025 #profoliosai #resume #jobstrategy #leadershipdevelopment #teammanagement

Only focusing on tactical sales skills is why 85% of sales training has no lasting long term effect.    To drive true change in our sales force, we must focus on driving behavioral change.    Focus on the inputs not the outputs.    Follow these steps to get to the root cause of what is holding your reps back    1 Find the one area they are struggling with most. One at a time, please.    2 In your scheduled one to one, let them know you were reviewing calls, meetings, CRM, something and you noticed the area.    3 Let them know you want to come up with a plan to help them improve in this one area.    It's important that they don't feel attacked during this meeting.    4 Then start the dialogue.     Ask them their thoughts about the area of concern.    If they have no awareness that something is amiss, that's on you as a leader for not setting an expectation and holding them accountable.    But most times reps know their area of struggle.    Your goal is to get underneath the surface and to the underlying why.    Your convo may go something like this:    Manager: I checked the CRM before our meeting and it looks like you have only been converting 20% of your deals to demos after your discovery meetings. Why is that?    Rep: Well, the people on the calls are not well qualified.    Manager: That's interesting.    Rep with an animated face: Yeah, I keep getting all the duds showing up for meetings and they don't want to book a demo with me. There must be a problem with the quality of leads we are getting.    Manager: So there is a quality problem, not a qualification problem?    Rep with a confused face: No, I do a good job qualifying them.    Manager: Alright, let's do a role play.    Rep starting to sweat: Right now?    Manager: Yes.    Rep after a long pause and sigh: Well, I don't have my script and all my questions    Manager with a confused face: You are reading from a script on your discovery calls?    Rep looking away in shame: Yes, because I don't feel confident in my ability to answer the prospects questions so I make sure we focus on only the stuff I know.    Bullseye.    The root cause of the dismal conversion rate is due to a lack of confidence.    But we would not have gotten there by just teaching the rep how to do a better discovery meeting.    We build the mindset and then the skillset.    This formula is what makes my sales training sticky.    Reps not only double their conversion rate at each step in the sales funnel, they continue to implement the new skills they've learned.    Ready for sales training that brings you a return on your investment within 30 days?    #wesleynewisdom 

Next Up: Manager Engagement - From Status Dumps to Strategic Partnership Navigating the relationship with your manager at any level can present its challenges. I've had managers that are new to leadership, new to the company, new to the org, or simply have a different style – you'll encounter a million scenarios. What I've learned is to focus on what I can control in these important manager syncs. In my early roles, I used to treat my 1:1s like a "status update dump." I'd share everything I was working on, but it was disorganized. It was rarely clear when I needed their help, if I needed them to remove blockers, or if I wanted to discuss career development. I'd intermingle everything without a clear structure, and often, I wasn't even sharing updates on what was most critical to my boss or skip-level manager. I'd sometimes leave my 1:1s more confused than when I walked in, which led to another week of trying to figure things out alone. It wasn't because my managers weren't supportive; it was because I wasn't clear on my asks for them. So, I made some adjustments: Created a Dedicated 1:1 Agenda Doc using Google Docs: This became my SOT for 1:1s. I used it every week to track discussion topics, feedback, and action items. Structured the Agenda: I broke out the agenda into clear sections: - Areas Where I Need Your Help: This was for specific blockers or decisions where their input was essential. - FYIs: Items I knew were on their or my director's radar, giving them a heads-up on potential future discussions. - General Status Updates: These didn't have to be covered in the sync but were there for them to review on their own time if needed. Proactive Prioritization: This structure quickly allowed us to focus on the most critical topics. If I was spending time on items no longer top priority, we could discuss it in the meeting. My manager also got a quick view into areas where they might get looped in, allowing them to stay informed. They quickly knew exactly where I needed them to jump in and provide support. These changes made my 1:1s incredibly more effective and helped me operate with so much more clarity throughout the week. It changed our syncs from transactional updates to a more collaborative/partnership engagement. What's one thing you've changed to make your 1:1s with your manager more effective? Share your tips below! #ManagerTips #CareerDevelopment #Leadership #CommunicationSkills #1on1s #CareerLessons #MyJourneyToTech #IndividualContributor

How I Come Prepared for a 1:1 as a Program Manager at Amazon Most 1:1s are wasted. Vague updates. No agenda. Awkward silence. Then the dreaded…“Anything else?” And you leave thinking, Did we even move anything forward? Here’s how I prep for every 1:1 so it drives clarity, momentum, and trust: 1/ I bring a tight agenda ↳ “3 things: 1 blocker, 1 decision, 1 career check-in” ↳ If I don’t know what I need…why should they? 2/ I come with context ↳ “Here’s the situation, risk, and options…my rec is X” ↳ PMs don’t raise problems. We raise solutions 3/ I flag what’s changed ↳ “Last week we said A…now we’re seeing B” ↳ Keep your manager in the loop before they hear it elsewhere 4/ I ask for perspective ↳ “What’s one thing you’d do differently if you were in my seat?” ↳ Don’t just manage up…learn up 5/ I close with ownership ↳ “Here’s what I’ll do next. Here’s what I need from you.” ↳ Leave with motion, not ambiguity A good 1:1 isn’t a meeting. It’s a leadership accelerator. What’s your #1 rule for making 1:1s useful? ➕ I share tactical operating systems like this weekly: https://lnkd.in/e6qAwEFc

⛔️ “Sure, let’s discuss [reprioritizing your workload, your career development, how your performance is tracking midyear] in your 1:1.” Fast, easy, efficient. 🙌 “Let’s set up some dedicated time.” A few years ago, leaders in our team were having meaningful career conversations as a part of everyday management. Promotions happening, feedback exchanged real time, not saved for twice a year. Career was a normal part of 1:1 agendas, which felt in some ways evolved and baked in for a fast moving company. We cared so much, we were discussing weekly! But imagine our surprise when employee scores were rating us lower in career development. 🤔 Where was the disconnect? When we were talking career (skills, feedback, coaching) in the normal course of conversation and at the dedicated company mid year and annuals, it was getting lost in the couch cushions of busy schedules. Big rock topics get their own meetings with their own titles and notes/agendas. Even though no one wants another meeting. So we shifted to: -setting up repeating quarterly Career chat invites that allowed everyone to clear headspace for the convos -keeping dedicated notes about topics -starting running logs to track resume bullets and wins as mutual fodder for review seasons every 6 months -continuing real time feedback and thoughts in 1:1s, but threaded back to the quarterly chat Similarly, Dan Brodnitz used to set up meetings called Moving Day, which were solely for reprioritizing work when things got overwhelming. If Moving Day was on your calendar, that’s your leader taking your workload seriously and adjusting competing priorities for a busy and senior team. If the team is feeling disconnected from overall company goals during a busy season, a half hour on How Our Work Impacts Customers (bonus points if you have customer anecdotes) does wonders shining light and opening dialogue. Name it and claim it.

A question that I wish I had asked myself more often when I was AGC was, "What would my manager *really* like to hear about during our 1:1s?" closely followed by:  "Are we having the right *level* of conversation?" 🌍 These questions are all about shifting perspectives —zooming out from our day-to-day to see things through our manager’s lens. As leaders, we’re laser-focused on the issues and initiatives impacting our teams. But our managers (especially GCs and CEOs) are operating with a 5X wider aperture. What they need to report up—or act on—often looks very different from what we bring to the table. Here are some common patterns I’ve seen, whether managing legal teams or business leaders: 🔥 Too much focus on the problem, not enough on the solution. Your manager is already fighting fires. You stand out when you bring well-thought-out, actionable solutions—not just more flames. 🙋♀️ Not making enough asks. (Separate post coming on this.) Smart, evidence-backed asks show leadership and ownership. Don’t wait for permission to be proactive. 🚫 Making the issue about other people. If you're constantly pointing fingers—and your peers aren't—it can eventually reflect poorly on you. Bring a constructive, team-first mindset. 📊 Staying too deep in the weeds. Go up a level. Talk trends, metrics, business impact. How does this affect KPIs? Revenue? Strategy? Your GC or CEO needs information they can bring into their leadership conversations. Metrics and trends are your friends (see what I just did there :) 🔄 Reflect on the energy exchange. After your 1:1, does your manager feel empowered or drained? Are you feeling productive or going in circles? Relationships aren’t built or damaged in a single meeting—but trends matter. 💬  Finally: ask your manager if the 1:1s are useful for them. Make it a two-way dialogue. Tell them what you need to be successful, too. 🤝 Communication is the foundation of any strong relationship—why should this one be any different? 😊 #LegalLeadership #CareerGrowth #FounderLessons