Meaningful One-on-Ones: A Framework

These days noone has time and one-on-one meetings become rushed checkpoints rather than meaningful conversations. Yet, these regular meetings represtent the one of the most powerful ways for a manager to build trust, foster growth and ensure team satisfaction within a safe environment.

Working in a capacity of a manager over the years I have developed a framework for one-on-ones that makes these meetings into meaningful events rather than obligatory calendar slots. This approach has not only improved individual performance but has significantly contributed to team success and satisfaction.

Scope

The most important aspect of these meetings is the scope. The meetings are for the direct report and not for the company, the manager or the workload. They can always be recycled if time allows it, but the main focus however, should always be the person.

Four Essential Questions

There are 4 foundational questions, which depending on the frequency can be asked or left for the report to use as food for thought.

  • What did you accomplish since our last meeting? This question introduces the person into a rhythym of accountability while at the same time giving the opportunity to showcase the work that has been accomplished.
  • What would you like to have done better? This soft nudge towards self-reflection ecourages ownership and continuous improvement. By allowing the people to identify their own growth areas, you foster autonomy rather than enforceing top-down critisim.
  • What could the company do to improve your ability to deliver? This question signals that the report has an advocate in the copany with their interest in mind, while allows for direct feedback on any obstacles that might be hindering performance.
  • What could you do to improve your ability to deliver? A balancing question by emphasizing personal responsibility, encouraging proactive problem solving and helps the person thinki critically about their own development needs.

These 4 questions create a solid foundation. However they can be quite narrow and in order to truly elevate these conversations it is important to explore 5 different key dimensions that will contribute to long-term engagement and retention.

Five Dimensions for Deeper Engagement

  1. Learning & Growth Personal growth is one of the top factors when considering job satisfaction. The following questions help uncover how each individual prefers to develop:

  • “Can you share an instance where you felt you learned a lot on the job? What made that experience effective for you?” This reveals their personal learning style and helps you recreate conditions that facilitate their growth.

  • ”How do you prefer to stay updated with industry developments and best practices, and what can we do to support this? Each individual differs - some thrive in conferences, others through online courses while others consule books or blog content.

  • ”What skills or knowledge areas do you feel would significantly benefit your role, and how can the company help you develop these?” This aligns their growth aspirations with business needs, creating win-win opportunities.

  1. Enjoyment & Fulfillment People who find joy and purpose in their work tend to have a better psychology and thus perform better:

  • “Can you describe a time when you had the most fun working here? What factors contributed to that experience?” Although I am not 100% fond of the word fun, this question tries to identify the conditions that bring out the best of the people and drive the highest engagement.

  • ”What changes in our work environment or culture do you think would add to the fun and positivity in the office?” A great moment to contribute to cultural improvements while acknowledging that workplace satisfaction does matter.

  1. Teamwork & Collaboration Most jobs revolve around collaboration and the focus is strengthening team dynamics:
  • “What do you think we could do to improve communication and collaboration within and between teams?” The aim here is to bring front any friction points within or cross team interactions while also identifying opportunties for workflow imporvement.
  1. Velocity Breaking down obstacles benefits everyone:

  • “What obstacles do you face that slow down your daily work?” This identifies specific pain points in tools, processes, or dependencies that might be slowing progress.

  • ”Can you think of any tools or practices that could streamline our development workflow?” This invites innovative thinking about process improvements and empowers engineers to shape their work environment.

  1. Retention & Satisfaction It’s crucial to address retention directly. It might appear too bold, but its important to prevent suprises:

  • “Are you currently happy working at COMAPNY? If not, why?” This direct question opens space for honest feedback about job satisfaction.

  • ”What would need to happen for you to (not) start looking for a new job?” This question helps identify retention risks early and gives you actionable insights to improve conditions.

Implementing the Framework Effectively

To make the most of this framework:

In order to make the most of this framework dont try to cover everything every time. It can be very overwhelming - that is why my suggestion is to rotate through the dimensions based on individual needs. In addition, it is important to create a feeling that these disucssions lead somewhere by following up consistently. If an obstacle is identified or a request is made, take action and report back, regardless of the outcome. This allows for trust to be built. Lastly, always keep notes. Track each conversation, highlighting the value of these conversations adapting to each individuals needs. Some people may respond better to different phrasing or focus areas and therefore it is important while setting the same context for all, to at the same time adjust.

Take notes. Track themes, commitments, and growth over time. This demonstrates that you value these conversations. Adapt questions to individual needs. Some engineers may respond better to different phrasing or focus areas. Share context. Help connect individual work to larger company goals and vision.

Beyond the Questions: Creating Psychological Safety

While having a good framework is important, the atmosphere and how these questions are asked matters as much as what is being asked. Remember that the ultimate goal isn’t just to ask good questions, but to listen actively to the answers and take appropriate action. When people see that their input is used to drive change in an organization they become more invested not just in their own work, but in the broader success of the team and company.

Lastly always aim to create an environment in which every individual feels safe to:

  • Admist mistakes without fearing jugdment
  • Share concerns withoust sounding disloyal
  • Express aspirations in terms of career
  • Be open about challenges outside of work

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