In Praise of the 15-Minute One-On-One
There are few better uses of your time than a fully focused conversation
Every new manager learns this rule: Meet with your direct reports, one-on-one, every week or so. Every new manager also soon encounters this truth: These meetings can often feel meandering or awkward, and are easy to skip when everyone gets busy.
Similarly, outside of work, it’s easy to go days or weeks without making time for focused conversation with your friends and family. Many of us have seen our hours clipped and chopped up between homeschooling, housework, and anxiety about the state of the world. Who has time to chat?
But I’d argue that the 15-minute one-on-one — at work and outside of it — is more important now than ever. Sometimes a focused conversation, even a short one, can be the key to feeling more connected and engaged, at a time when it’s very hard to feel either.
The advice about one-on-one chats with direct reports is sound. Google’s huge manager research project found that the highest-scoring managers…
