My boss and I create a Slack thread each week for 1:1 topics.<p>One thing to remember is that 1:1 time is YOUR time, not your boss's time. They can schedule a meeting with you any time for their topics, but 1:1s are always your chance to have face time alone with them.<p>It's up to you what to talk about, but as a manager, I don't need status updates. If I'm a good manager, then I already know what you're up to, so let's talk about something _you_ want to talk about. You don't need to inform me of your day-to-day work, unless that's what you want to talk about.<p>My boss and I talk about a lot of things, but rarely status updates on projects. The topics tend to revolve around organizational changes, obstacles that my team and I are running into, personnel issues, or company strategic/tactical considerations.<p>My 1:1 is also a great time to talk about career development. Every other 1:1 I ask my boss how I'm doing, and if he says "You're great", I push a little bit more on something I can improve. He usually comes up with _something_.<p>I know a lot of ICs feel it's rude or inappropriate to bring up raises or career direction, so I try to bring it up for them every other month or so. Things like "How do you like the direction of your role? Is there something else you'd like to work on? Have your career goals changed? Do you want to talk about that?"<p>I also take the time in 1:1s to get to know them on a personal level. One of my team members is having a baby in a few weeks, another one is competing in an Ironman in a few months, and a third is going through a divorce. These kinds of things don't directly apply to the job at hand, but it does have several benefits, such as letting them know that I care about them personally and giving me context that might explain aberrant behavior. Plus, it's just nice when someone asks about how you're doing, right?<p>Like I said at the beginning, I'll make a Slack thread with my boss. This week's looks something like this:<p>- <employee> performance plan<p>- <project> pivot<p>- <employee>'s annual review is coming up, compensation adj?<p>- <project> budget exploded, what happened?<p>- <another manager> seems to struggle with <project>. How can I help?<p>etc, etc.<p>Hope that helps. Good luck.