1:1s with your manager is for you
Don't take it lightly. This is a golden meeting.
Introduction
Don’t waste your 1:1s with your manager. They’re the golden moments for your growth.
Bring up a highlight and lowlight of the week.
Talk about your goals and how you feel.
Make sure you have a shared document where you take notes, every single time.
You should be the one driving and leading the 1:1s. It shouldn’t be your manager feeling like they have to bring things out of you.
Show importance
By showing how you value 1:1s with your manager, they will naturally value the 1:1s more.
They will try not to come late.
They will take what you say seriously.
They will value it more.
You value the 1:1s by:
Taking notes during the meeting
Bringing things to the Agenda
Thanking your manager. When thanking your manager, be specific about what, don’t make it generic. This way you show what exactly you appreciate.
Keep track of work
In your 1:1s keep track of your work.
Things you did well and things you could’ve done better. This is a meeting with your manager, so you’re both on the same page about your work.
Don’t just keep track of the work, keep track of the impact of the work. Highlighting the impact is much more important than the work itself.
How did the work impact customers? How did it impact the team? How did it impact the product?
No one cares about the work.
People care about the impact.
Love the callout of the focus on impact and not just work completed. Great call, Tiger
I think it's also important to understand each person prefers a 1:1 differently. Some people like the doc and progress, others the unstructured coffee chat style.
I have had both with different people.
But what I found is that the important part is defining what you want from it. If the meeting arrives and I have no idea of what I want of the meeting, then it's going to be a bit of a waste of time