Yesterday, I had my last 1:1 meeting with my manager in my current employment.
If I look back at all the managers I had in the past, I can confidently say I have been lucky. Overall there has been a good relationship between my managers and me.
In the Daily Check-in chat I said I like these sessions. @simon_tomes triggered me to write about my 1:1 experiences, so here goes; some dos and don’ts of meetings with your manager (in no particular order) …
Dos:
Bounce ideas. Talk and brainstorm about ideas and initiatives you or your manager have, and figure out how to implement these.
Review performance. At regular intervals, we go through set objectives for the year. This makes the end of year review a lot easier and more meaningful. (referencing @adystokes’ article on this topic)
Social chat. I believe it is important that your manager knows a bit about your personal life. It strengthens the relationship, and it puts context to who you are.
Vent. Within reason, it is ok to let of steam in front of your manager. Talk about the things you are not happy with at work. They might be able to do something about it.
Prepare. Prior to a 1:1 I always jot down a few things I want to talk about; just to get the most out of the meeting.
Don’ts:
Fixed agenda. A set agenda will restrict free talking, and limits the effectiveness of the meeting.
Progress on tasks. Don’t talk about your daily tasks. This should be done during daily stand-ups or similar sessions.
Reschedule or cancel. Keep momentum. These meetings are valuable for both sides. rescheduling and canceling gives out the message it might not be important.
Wait for the 1:1. You don’t have to wait for the scheduled meeting to discuss or ask something. There should always be room for conversation at any time.
I’m keen to know what you do or don’t do in meetings with your manager. Please let me know.
Thanks for kicking this off and great list there. Here’s my 2 cents:
Dos:
Agree together on the cadence of the 1:1 as sometimes too frequent could feel like micromanaging. For instance, if you both are in the same project related meetings and then meet weekly for a 1:1 consider the personal things you’d like raise that possible wouldn’t have been highlighted.
Personal development: discuss where there may be areas of development that may be needed outside of the specific work, ie soft skills or communication skills. The 1:1 isn’t just a “work” related meeting but also a time to assess your growth as an individual working within the team.
Do ask where they see the direction of the team is going as that helps to inform your alignment to some of those expectations or areas of growth needed.
Don’ts:
Understanding the Interaction: If you are remote try as best as possible to treat the meeting as if you were physically in the same space. It therefore means having your camera on to interact is a must. (I’ve had 1:1s for a season of my life where I spoke to an acronym on Microsoft Teams). yep.
Don’t assume your manager has a clear understanding of the challenges you face particularly if you are on a global multicultural team. Varying cultures and innuendos could mean different things so when talking about your development be patient to communicate or willing to explain and listen.
Nice lists, and this follows good practice that we’ve adopted where we work. The coverage used to be patchy, until we had a couple of lunch and learn sessions run by an external coach who is great at this kind of thing.
One thing I didn’t spot in the lists is to agree any actions (and write the things down somewhere). I’ve got a head like a sieve and we’ve all got a bunch of things to do - it’s easy to forget actions agreed on both sides of the 1:1 and you turn up next time with an expectation that something would have happened / been in progress, but someone forgot. It can create the impression that one or both sides aren’t attaching value to the process.
I especially agree with the social chit chat part. Team cohesion is really important, and a bond outside the love of testing is required. It’s one of the things I’m proud of in my team. Take a moment to understand your team members interests and find out a bit about it to engage. I have a team member who loves cricket, whereas it sends me to sleep. But now I always check what’s happening in the cricket world on BBC sport and we can always have a chat about it.
I see some other teams where I work struggling with this specifically.
I kept reading this Denial of Service XD
Do’s XD
Nice post though! I would like to add with Do’s, that it doesn’t always have to be in a meeting room. We often go have dinner or have a drink in a bar. Which is so much more open and less stressful for others.
Daily Check-in chat I said I like these sessions. @simon_tomes triggered me to write about my 1:1 experiences, so here goes; some dos and don’ts of meetings with your manager (in no particular order) …
yep.