One-on-Ones

Most companies have them, but what are the best practices around doing them? And who are they really for? The company, the manager, or the employee? Luckily, O’Reilly has a free ebook that answers those questions, and more: The Secrets Behind Great One-on-One Meetings.

(O’Reilly has more free ebooks on Business, plus Programming, Data, and other subjects.)

I enjoyed the One-on-One ebook and it clarified some things in my head. Companies normally say, “What’s good for the company is good for its employees.” I think 1on1s are the place for the employee to (safely) say, “What’s good for me is good for the company.” In other words, the employee can talk about their career at the company, things that are slowing them down, or whatever else is on their mind.

I’ve had good and bad 1on1s. In hindsight, I think the good ones did improve the companies I worked for – I was often happier and therefor more productive. Conversely, the mediocre/bad 1on1s I’ve had could have been improved simply by changing their tone to, “You’re doing a good job, but what do you need to do a great job here?”