Why regular 121's are vital to performance, wellbeing and development

Imagine planting a plant in a pot. You place the soil, in goes the plant, you water it and then leave it. You do nothing with it for a few weeks and then go back to it. What will you see? Probably a withered, dry and limp plant.

You planted it with good intentions, but you were too busy to water it, to nurture it to maintain the conditions where it will flourish. It's not surprising that the plant withers away!

Now imagine you are a manager who is too busy to have regular check-ins with people in your team. Maybe you see them as an add-on to your day job or you think that spending time to talk with individuals in your team will distract you from your real work!

What do you think is likely to happen? Let's explore this...

• How will they feel that you can't make time for them?
• How will they know how they are getting on?
• How will they know if they are on track?
• How can they ask you questions?
• How can you develop them?
• How will they know when they have done something well?
• How will they know if they need to improve?
• How will you know if they have useful ideas or opinions?
• How can you track team results without knowing how individuals are getting on?

You are likely to end up with a person who feels ignored, devalued, not consulted and excluded. As their performance suffers, the life is sucked out of them and their well-being declines. It's no surprise when they leave for a new job with a better manager.

So if you are in a management position and you feel that 121 check-ins are not your job, try telling that to your team. Go and tell them that you're too busy to check in on them, it's not your job to do this and that you won't be having their back. Tell them that you don't want to support them when they need you and that you're not interested in their development.

If you don't have regular 121 conversations with your team, that is exactly the message you are giving them.

So make it easy on yourself. A 121 isn't an add-on, it's the thing that, done well and consistently, will help you deliver great performance, positive results and save you time in the long run. Your role as a manager is to create the conditions where people can perform well and feel good about themselves and their work life. If you don't see the value of a regular, meaningful conversation with a person in your team then you really don't value your people.

Start valuing people. Put individuals at the centre of all that you do and start noticing the difference.