Making the Most of Your 1:1s: Stop Wasting Your Opportunity

Making the Most of Your 1:1s: Stop Wasting Your Opportunity

1:1 meetings with your manager are your best chance to showcase your impact, align priorities, and get the guidance you need. Yet, as a manager, I see significant variability in how my team approaches these meetings. Some come prepared with a clear agenda, while others treat this valuable time like a casual coffee chat.

If you’re coming to your 1:1s unprepared, you’re missing a valuable opportunity. In a competitive professional environment, making the most of these meetings is essential to ensuring your work gets noticed and your impact is recognized.

Here’s why preparation matters and how you can use your 1:1s to stand out and make your contributions difficult to overlook.

The Problem With “Fuzzy” 1:1s

When your 1:1s lack structure or focus, it’s not just inefficient—it’s harmful to your career, resulting in:

  • Lost Opportunities for Recognition: Managers, especially those with large teams, don’t have the bandwidth to track every detail of your work. If you don’t make your impact visible, it will likely be overlooked.
  • Directionless Conversations: Without a clear agenda, you risk meandering through vague updates or small talk, leaving you without actionable takeaways.
  • Mid-Year and End-of-Year Panic: Scrambling to “prove” your value during performance reviews is too late. Your manager should already have a clear picture of your impact.
  • Misalignment: Without substance, 1:1s make it harder for managers to advocate for your work or provide meaningful guidance.

The Benefits of a Focused Agenda

Coming prepared with a focused agenda doesn’t just make your 1:1 more productive—it turns it into a platform to showcase your value and strengthen your manager’s understanding of your contributions. By structuring the conversation strategically, you can:

  • Demonstrate Impact: Highlight measurable outcomes of your work rather than listing tasks. This helps your manager understand the results you’ve delivered.
  • Strengthen Your Case in Real-Time: Sharing achievements as they happen prevents important contributions from being forgotten and ensures timely recognition.
  • Highlight Strategic Thinking: Connecting your work to team or organizational goals shows you understand how your contributions fit into the bigger picture.
  • Control the Narrative: A focused agenda ensures your story is told the way you want, reducing the risk of your contributions being undervalued.
  • Get Targeted Feedback: A structured conversation allows your manager to offer meaningful insights, helping you refine your work and address challenges.

How to Prepare for Effective 1:1s

Preparation is the key to making your 1:1 productive and ensuring your manager understands your contributions. Here’s how to get ready:

  • Own the Agenda: Spend 10–15 minutes identifying what to cover:

?? Wins: What accomplishments or milestones should you highlight?

?? Challenges: Where do you need support?

?? Alignment: What feedback or decisions are necessary to move forward?

  • Showcase Your Value Clearly: Present results in a way that connects your contributions to broader goals. Replace “I worked on X” with “My work on X led to Y, which supports Z.”
  • Focus on Pre- and Post-Indicators: Frame your work around before-and-after states to demonstrate the tangible impact you’ve made.
  • Ask Strategic Questions: Use the time to explore challenges, team priorities, or professional development opportunities.
  • Seek Feedback: Invite your manager’s input on your approach or results, showing you value their perspective and are open to growth.
  • Bring Visuals: Use visuals like plans, reports, or recommendations to make your work clear and concrete.
  • Balance Personal and Professional: Personal updates are fine but keep them brief. Transition quickly to meaningful topics to maximize the time.

The Manager’s Perspective

As a manager with a large team—half of whom report directly to me—I can’t track the details of everyone’s work. This makes 1:1s a crucial opportunity for you to ensure your contributions are visible and your value is clear.

For those with less frequent interactions with their skip-level manager, preparation is even more critical. If you’re not prepared, you’re missing a vital chance to control your narrative and showcase your impact.


Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash

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