The One-on-One: The End is Not The End

You’ve worked hard at building trust with your team member through the five questions you’re engaging in each week. You have learned so much about what they love, where they shine, their ideas for improvement, where they want to grow. You know how they are actively investing in their own development and you’ve worked through individual blockers or issues as needed. So what else is there to this conversation?

I find for myself and my team members that this conversation is really just a check-in along the course of a larger, ongoing relationship.

When my team member is opening up to me about their loves and frustrations, desires to grow, and how I can partner with them, I often will share my own stories of dealing with similar issues, or talk about what’s currently on my plate. The last question especially lends itself to opening up visibility into my role (one they may inhabit one day!). Sometimes I frame it like, “If you were in my shoes, what would you want to be aware of?” So we’re on a continual journey of getting to know each other pretty well through this weekly discussion. This makes it much easier for us to interact comfortably outside of the One-on-One.

Each week, when the conversation has been had, I always remind my team mates, “If anything else comes up, you know where to find me. You never have to wait for our One-on-One to reach out about anything. Just ping me on Slack or put additional time on my calendar. I’m here for you.” Notice, there’s a BIG difference between the aforementioned approach of generally mediocre or even bad managers, “This time is here for you,” versus what we’ve just communicated: “I’m here for you.” That sends an entirely different message. My whole job as a people manager is to remove blockers and to create the path of least resistance to enable my team members’ successes. I am literally here in this role for them.

Almost every manager will tell you they have an “open door policy,” but many of them don’t actually mean it. By routinely going through these questions with your team member, you’re showing them (over and over again) that you genuinely care for them, you are worthy of their trust, you mean what you say, and you come through on what you commit to.

So when you indicate that your door is always open, they’re actually going to believe you. AND, most importantly, they’re actually going to take advantage of it when something does come up!

Be sure to check out more content in the One-on-One series.