Go and Schedule that 1:1

The Problem

Two friends 'X' & 'Y' join a company after graduating from college. Person 'X' is having 1:1 (one-on-one) only with their manager but person 'Y' has scheduled 1:1s with their manager, skip level manager, senior engineer, and colleagues from the sister team etc.

Now, what do you think about who has more chance of knowing what's happening within the organization and who would feel more connected with the team?

I always hated 1:1s during the initial days of my career. I hated it mostly because I felt that it was hindering my day-to-day work.

Later, I realized that 1:1 is an awesome way to uncover some unknowns, align yourself with company goals, get a reality check on your face, have some spicy discussions, and most importantly, feel connected with your team.

Let me put some points on why 1:1s are important.

Why 1:1s?

Every 1:1 is different but all of them have a few common traits

• You will have a focused discussion within your 1:1.
• You will get new perspective on solving a specific problem.
• You may learn some new stuff, the best practices to follow.
• You discuss personal stuff (if you feel comfortable sharing with other person) like about your recent weekends, holidays, vacations, movies, books or some crazy things happened recently.
• You discuss the growth plan with your manager and align your goals.
• You raise some in-depth technical discussion with your team member or have some spicy discussions with your manager.
• You get to know your strengths and get enough feedback to work on.
• and the list goes on.

Frequency of 1:1s?

You don't have to exhaust yourself from too many 1:1s in a week but here are a few suggestions to set the frequency of 1:1s -

Weekly

• With important people like your manager or project-owner with whom you want to have regular discussions.

Fortnightly

• With your team members or members from immediate sister-teams.

Monthly or Quarterly

• With your skip level managers, principals or managers from sister team.
• With some cool buddies from distant teams with whom you always feel connected or get inspired.

On-Demand

• When you need quick discussion with your team member or tech-lead, you just go and schedule the meeting to align them with your approach for the PR that you have just raised. (I just love this On-Demand basis 1:1 scheduling, it just keeps me going rather than just waiting)

Important Tip

Always be prepared with some key points to discuss in your 1:1. If you don't have any items to discuss, just have some personal conversation, cricket news or talk about recent AI announcement etc. In worst case, just decline the 1:1 and be prepared for next one.

Take Away

Go and schedule that 1:1 with your team member, colleague, skip-level or cool buddy and have a healthy discussion. You would feel more connected with your team / organization than ever.

Thanks for reading.

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