I've been involved in one-on-one's in the past (as an employee) that were simply another way for my manager to shove directions down my throat. Needless to say, I loathed them and tried to make up any excuse I could to cancel or reschedule.<p>Now, as a manager, I've tried to learn from my experiences and make the one-on-one more about the employee. Some of the best one-on-ones I've done have nothing to do with work -- they are more about the employee's personal concerns and making sure the company is doing whatever it can to mitigate them.
Rands did it better: <a href="http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2010/09/22/the_update_the_vent_and_the_disaster.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2010/09/22/the_update_...</a>
I hate to see 1-on-1's get abused because they really are a valuable tool.<p>A 1-on-1 is a designated time for an employee to direct an entire conversation with their manager. They can choose to talk about interests, grievances, concerns, ideas, hobbies, problems, successes or NOTHING AT ALL. This is for a manager to sit back and absorb, to give answers when asked. That's it.<p>A good manager will take 1-on-1s as a way to make sure their employees are happy, healthy and not at risk of leaving the company. This isn't a bi-weekly-performance-review.
I am having one-on-one's currently and this is how I do it.<p>1. Talk to your manager about your career aspirations. That include promotion, raise and other learning opportunities.<p>2. Discuss what will get you there- Write on the white board clearly defined tasks you need to do to get there.<p>3. Put down a plan to execute and track them. And record it- I generally take a picture of the whiteboard.<p>4. Ask him for feed back on how you did from last one-on-one to this one.<p>5. Give him feed back about project, technology, company and things in general.<p>6. Have him sign off and agree that you are doing well which he agrees and acknowledges it.<p>7. Repeat 1-6 in every one-on-one scheduled to happen every 2 two weeks.<p>A good appraisal, evaluation at the end of year is something that doesn't have any surprises between you and your manager.<p>[EDIT: Even if your company doesn't have 1:1 - Ensure you take personal initiative to have discussion of this kind with your manager it helps a lot in the longer run]
If you make a one-on-one into a periodic meeting like ben is suggesting, it will invariably end up as yet another pointless formality.<p>Ideally, in a well-run company, an employee should be able to easily walk to the CEO and talk about any problem/grievance/suggestion/new idea. But it is much more efficient to keep such meetings adhoc/need-based and not periodic, since, more often than not, the employee will either have nothing to talk about or will have a lot of pressing things to talk about and not like to wait till the next one-on-one.
I would really like to have another 1:1 with my boss, but I am an introverted contractor with little-to-no experience communicating in a corporate environment. I'm stuck for fear of how much control they have over my life at the moment. How can I be honest with someone like that?
Other than the idea of framing the one-on-one meeting to be 90% controlled by the employee the post is thin on suggestions. "How do you get help when you love your job, but your personal life is melting down?" - Really?
[ok, slightly (very?) off-topic]<p>..not hating, but quoting a Rick Ross verse on a track that features Three Stacks?? that's like hip-hop blasphemy!<p>i expect better Mr. Horowitz