One-to-one conversations

Mick Farley was a fan of weekly one-to-one conversations with his core team. I generally found these meetings useful, and could see how they helped with delegation in a large organisation. The tradition has continued under Jon Standen and is one that I seek to emulate with my own team of direct reports.

Susan Scott lists a series of questions that can be used to make these one-to-ones more meaningful and effective:

1. What has become clear since we last met?
2. What is the area that, if you made an improvement, would give you and others the greatest return on time, energy and money invested?
3. What is currently impossible to do that, were it possible, would change everything?
4. What are you trying to make happen in the next three months?
5. What's the most important decision you're facing? What's keeping you from making it?
6. What topic are you hoping I won't bring up?
7. What area under your responsibility are you most satisfied with? least satisfied with?
8. What part of your responsibilities are you avoiding right now?
9. Who are your strongest employees? What are you doing to ensure that they're happy and motivated?
10. Who are your weakest employees? What is your plan for them?
11. What conversations are you avoiding right now? What do you wish you had more time to do?
12. What things are you doing that you would like to stop doing or delegate to someone else?
13. If you were hired to consult for our company, what would you advise?
14. If you were competing against our company what would you do?
15. What threatens your peace? What threatens the business? your health? your personal fulfilment?

Nice :-)