Great 1:1 meetings drive accountability by continuously keeping top priorities, top priorities.
If you feel that your one-on-ones aren’t especially useful, then it’s time to improve your process. I truly find that 1:1’s are the single most important meetings of my week. It helps me set expectations, communicate priorities, and listen to the struggles/challenges that each person on my team is having. When done well, 1:1’s drive engagement and accountability.
Trap: Don’t get caught by the misconception that 1:1’s are just another meeting or that the “open door” policy is better. I truly believe by focusing 30 min of time each week on each of your direct reports, you will free up hours of meetings by delegating decision making power, and eliminate last-minute fire drills by getting ahead of problems before they blow up while results by motive each person to stay focused on your team’s top priorities. When done well you will also reduce email and phone calls because both of you have a predetermined weekly time to talk through or share key information.
How to create more effective 1:1 meetings
1-Recurring, scheduled meetings: Weekly, bi-weekly depending on your role/business.
2-Brief – 30 minutes. It may look like this:
15-20 min: Progress on goals and priorities
Progress should be reviewed for each goal; share with your leader any issues or blockers they may need to help with to ensure that the target will be achieved.
5 min: Share recent accomplishments – ask for feedback
Ask for feedback from your leader. Any good work or praiseworthy behavior should be recognized and encouraged. Be open to it. It is a gift!
5-10 min: Development and open-ended Communication
Leave this open in the agenda – where does your leader need help? It may be an opportunity!!
What are you working to further your career development? Discuss ideas.
3-Location: Consider having your one on one meeting outside or out of the office – the change of venue can contribute to a more relaxed session.
4-Timing: Consider the timing for the recurring meeting. 4pm on Friday is not ideal for a focused conversation about your career development.
5-Commit to your 1 to 1 meeting – make it a priority: The first thing you need to do is make your one on one meeting a priority. It’s easy to skip meetings, so schedule a recurring calendar event each week to ensure the appropriate time is set aside.
6-Establish the 1:1 Meeting Agenda Format: Setting a mutually agreeable agenda allows the both participants to show up prepared and with aligned expectations.
7-Prepare so you can look forward, not backward: Thoughtful preparation. If you submit your template to your leader the day before your one on one meeting, each will arrive at the meeting knowing what will be discussed and allow you to spend the bulk of your time looking to the future, brainstorming, creating action items, and connecting personally.
8-Focus on you and your projects and development: Avoid discussing other employees’ work during your time together, unless it’s specifically applicable to the conversation.
Leaders have to make hard decisions, and the further you are in your leadership journey the more tough calls you have to make. As a leader, it’s important to know not only how to make tough calls, but when to make them.
All too often leaders push tough decisions down the road. Hard decisions get more complicated the longer they’re deferred, and delays can cause more damage than whatever fallout the leader was trying to avoid.
As a leader, you can learn to recognize when you are putting off making a decision because it seems unpleasant. Here are three of the most common excuses, and their consequences:
“I’m being considerate of others.” If leader is afraid of disappointing their team they might delay a tough decision. This only puts off the inevitable emotional fall-out, and gives team members less time to process their disappointment.
“I’m committed to quality and accuracy.” If a leader is uncomfortable with uncertainty they may delay action under the guise of gathering more data. This behavior sends the signal that “looking right” is more important than “doing right”.
“I want to be seen as fair.” Instead of recognizing high performers and coaching low performers, leaders may fall back on treating every member of their team in the exact same way. This type of behavior can undermine performance and ultimately cause friction down the line.
As a leader, how you make hard calls shapes the culture of your team, and the culture of your organization. These excuses teach team members that self-protection and self-interest are legitimate motivations for making difficult choices. Whatever temporary pain you might incur from making a tough call should pale in comparison to building a culture of thoughtful, positive decision-making.
If motivation were an exact science, leaders would have no problem keeping their teams motivated and moving forward. From experience we know that motivation is an art that requires a mindful approach. Especially when our goal is to motivate others to do something not because they were asked, but because they want to do it. Inspiring this kind of lasting motivation is an important skill for leaders to develop.
Here are three strategies for how you can motivate others in a way that lasts:
Model motivation. Make sure you are motivated, because that sets the tone for your team. If you’re lacking passion, eventually your team is going to lack passion. If you lack motivation, your team is going to lack motivation. The team follows the tone the leader sets.
Create a culture of appreciation. The single biggest reason a person leaves an organization is they don’t feel appreciated. If you want to motivate, appreciate. Appreciate more than you think you should, and then double the appreciation you show.
Address performance issues directly. One of the most demotivating things we can do is consistently accept unacceptable performance. Ignoring destructive behaviors means the whole team suffers.
As a leader, your role is to set up your team for success. You have the power to create a motivating atmosphere that keeps your team motivated through almost any challenge.
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
We all spend a lot of time in meetings, and we’ve all spent time in meetings where nothing really got accomplished. As a leader, you can change the culture of meetings and make them more productive and collaborative by following these three simple steps:
Only include agenda items that require a meeting. Some things require human interaction and collaborative thinking. Problems that don’t have solutions yet, or conflicts that haven’t been explored. Meetings are best used when we need to take time to let creative solutions emerge.
Everyone necessary should be present. Sometimes we send our bodies to meetings while our mind focuses on other things. Pull folks out of their smartphones by including agenda items that focus on decisions that make a difference.
Communicate what needs to be accomplished beforehand. No one should be hearing about something for the first time in a meeting. Send out an agenda beforehand to let folks know what to expect, and give them time to process and prepare before they arrive.
By following these three tips, you can create an environment where attendees become active participants. In other words, great meetings are not only pointed at getting things done, but also create an atmosphere of reflection, focus, and collaboration.
“We cannot waste time. We can only waste ourselves.” – George Matthew Adams
Change is inevitable, but intentional change takes work. As a leader you guide your team through changes, and you often act as a change agent yourself. Here are some truths about change management that will help you navigate even the choppiest waters.
Change is about people. You can’t force your will on people. If you want them to act differently, you need to inspire them to change themselves.
Change takes time. Changing hearts, minds, and workplace cultures can’t be done at the snap of your fingers.
Change requires vision. Describe what success looks like, and allow that vision to guide the change process.
Change requires buy-in. Identify who will be affected by the change, and get them involved and invested.
Change means trade-offs. Making new priorities means reducing or letting go of old ones.
Work with the willing. Assemble a team of people who share your vision to champion the change.
Overcommunicate — and then communicate some more.
Listen. Look hard for the useful nuggets in what people tell you, and incorporate them into your plan.
Empower the silent. Reserved team members may be more comfortable communicating their thoughts in private or anonymously.
Learn as you go. Create new learning opportunities and career paths to support the change.
Each of these tools has its place, and success lies in its application. While knowing these tools is important, the role of a leader is modeling the behaviors you want to see your team demonstrating.
Great leaders are communicators who deliberately refrain from using weak, indecisive words and phrases and instead use language that injects clarity, focus, and positive expectations into their conversations. Here are some powerless words and phrases to avoid that can hinder communication and set negative expectations:
“I’ll try…” Instead: be clear and firm. Candor and honesty will go farther to build trust with your customers and colleagues than “trying” ever will.
“I’ll have to…” This can imply that supporting your team is a burden. Instead: replace this negative line with the hospitable phrase “I’ll be glad to…”
“Basically…” This and other filler words take up space without adding value. Instead: Drop the filler entirely, and say what you intended to say.
“To be honest with you…” Saying this phrase can leave your team wondering “wait… you’re not honest the rest of the time?” Instead: Remove it, and simply say what you were planning to say.
“I should be able to…” This sounds like a weak commitment, and your team deserves better! Instead: tell them what you will do!
Your team takes cues from the words you use; consciously eliminating negative, powerless expressions and projecting a more positive, resourceful image will build your team’s confidence in you as a leader.
