How to Make the Most of Your 1:1 Meeting with Your Manager

There are many reasons why a 1:1 meeting with your manager is a great opportunity for you. Done well, you can learn so much about yourself, where you’re heading in your career, the opportunities that lay ahead, and what you can do to improve yourself so you can grab those opportunities and level up.

Essentially, 1:1 meetings are a chance for you and your manager to firstly, strengthen your working relationship, and secondly – which is most important – see how you can work better together to achieve your goals for success. Think of these meetings as an open dialogue between you and your manager to share feedback, ideas, and re-align objectives to work towards goals. If done effectively, 1:1 meetings help your manager understand how you’re feeling about your work and it helps you to better understand what’s expected of you.

Despite this, many times 1:1 meetings don’t go as planned – or in some cases, don’t happen at all because of scheduling issues and unfortunately, the lack of commitment from either party to make the most of it. But not making full use of your 1:1 meeting can rob you the opportunity to perform at your best at work. So what can you do about improving these meetings? Here are some tips.

#1 Be consistent about scheduling
One 1:1 meeting is great but consistently meeting up with your manager for these meetings? Even better. Try to make it a habit to arrange with your manager to have regular 1:1 meetings, say twice a month. This consistency will help you lock down the time for this important meeting and allows both parties to follow up with what’s being discussed before so there is some form of continuation as well as track your progress.

#2 Set your intentions
Planning and preparation are essential, even if your 1:1 meetings are informal. Going in there without a purpose on what you want clarity about will make these 1:1 meetings a waste of time for both you and your manager. If possible, set the agenda beforehand. This not only shows initiative on your side but allows you to take the lead, which is perfect if you want to discuss your career goals and progress during these 1:1 meetings. Don’t make your answer to “what do you want to talk about?” a blank stare.

#3 But be flexible too!
Sometimes, your manager might not be able to make it so be flexible if need be. Other times, your manager may want to discuss the progress for what you’re working on, especially if it is a tight deadline. Your boss may want to invite a colleague to these 1:1 meetings to get a bigger picture on what’s happening with a certain project. So be flexible – 1:1 meetings don’t always have to be about you and your career goals; they can also be used efficiently to discuss current work and challenges, or even a cross between day-to-day progress, job satisfaction, or really, anything at all. Either way, they serve as a great way to connect with your manager and produce better work.

#4 Ask important questions
Wish you could tell your manager about a certain challenge you’re facing? Well, these 1:1 are the perfect time for you to do so! But take note, it’s not a time to complain and whine about work. It’s a time for you to ask questions and get your manager’s opinion on a certain issue. Prepare your questions ahead of time. You can make a list or try to remember them. It is more natural when you ask the question off hand rather than refer to a piece of paper, which to be honest, can be rather intimidating even for your manager. Besides, having a casual approach fosters a more open discussion.

#5 Be honest!
Speaking of open discussions, 1:1 meetings are most effective when you are honest. Tell the truth about your challenges or roadblocks you’re facing. Be open about what you’re feeling, even if you’ve been feeling meh about work. After all, 1:1 meetings are designed to be a safe space for open dialogue. Your manager is there to support you, and sometimes, just voicing your struggles can lead to solutions you hadn’t considered. By being honest, you’ve paved the way for a more productive and meaningful dialogue that benefits both you and your manager.

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