One-on-one coaching
As employees keep leaving organizations and quiet quitting, the need for more deep one-on-one conversations is coming out to light. Some managers are realizing what was missing only after the exit interview, while others are starting to do more “stay interviews”.
In Project Oxygen, Google found that higher-scoring managers are more likely than lower-scoring managers to have frequent one-on-one meetings with their team members. Meeting frequently and individually with team members can require a large time investment but can identify issues early and provide a forum for the manager to give feedback and guidance.
As per Gallup research, the five key drivers of employee engagement are purpose, development, a caring manager, ongoing conversations and a focus on strengths. But the most important part is that the manager or team leader alone accounts for 70% of the variance in team engagement.
If you are a leader, your role is to facilitate interactions among the members by listening to their needs, identifying their blocks and strengths, and helping them build a path to grow. But this can’t be done during a team meeting or a retrospective. You can customize your support through frequent one-on-one sessions with your direct reports, no matter their level.
Four questions for you
1) How often are your one-on-one meetings with your team members?
Considering the importance of these conversations to keep your team members engaged, there is no one-fits-all recipe, but trying to do one-on-one sessions at least once a week with each of your direct reports, even if it is only for 15 minutes can help you see what they are seeing.
2) What are you doing to identify your team member's strengths?
You can use tests like Myers Briggs and Strengths Finder, or you can ask them directly. What type of job do they enjoy the most? Find together where is that they excel the most.
3) What are your own blocks, as a manager, during one-on-one meetings? What are you afraid to ask?
If you feel uncomfortable, it may be a sign that you are in the right direction, and/or that you can ask for help from a coach to frame the conversations in a different way or understand what they need.
4) What do you need to help them succeed?
Especially if you are working in different locations or remotely, or if it's a time of crisis, individual sessions help communicate the culture of the company, avoid overthinking and improve psychological safety. They may need something you are not aware of, everyone is different, so simply ask them what they need.
Always look for open-ended questions, ideally starting with what, which gives them more space to share their thoughts. Meet them where they are, when they need it the most.
