What I Wish I Had Known: One-on-Ones

What do I wish I had known back then?

This is the first of several blog posts about what I know now that I wish I had known back then.

Project Management is about managing people. Living breathing human beings who need to know what you expect from them, how their work fits into the bigger picture, and whether or not they’re doing a good job. People who want to do meaningful work and go home at the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment. Understand who they are, their communication styles, and what their strengths are. Don’t be afraid to ask them to work. Enable them to be accountable. Insist on results.

My recommended resource for hands-on how-to’s that you can apply immediately, no matter how much management experience you have:  www.manager-tools.com 

The one-on-one meeting. I really like Manager Tools. The techniques are simple and they work.  My personal favorite is the one-on-one meeting. This regularly scheduled 30 minutes a week of uninterrupted 1 on 1 time with each direct report provided enormous value. There’s a specific format for the meeting. The first half is for the employee to talk about whatever’s on his or her mind. The last half is for the manager to provide feedback about the employee’s performance or goals.

The 1-on-1 guaranteed that I slowed down long enough to listen, ask questions, and get to know each direct report better. This is how I found out about issues troubling the employees, what they were excited to have accomplished that week, and what they needed help with. Preparing annual performance reviews became much easier and less time-consuming, too, since the notes and observations from our weekly discussions provided a history of their growth and achievements for the entire year.

Result?  Not only did I understand them better, but also I gained insight about myself –  and what I could do differently to become a more effective manager.

Visit www.manager-tools.com site to listen to the podcast about one-on-ones, and download the forms.  You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.