#18: build a better meeting (one-on-one)

last week while meeting withsandy-the brand new lemon lime kids’ intern-a thought occurred to me: most of the tips and ideas we discuss during the build a better meeting series apply to team meetings, and usually assume that a medium size group is gathered for a meeting.

but, for most of us, we also lead weekly meetings with only one other person in attendance. a one-on-one meeting is a perfect time to focus on just one employee or volunteer, and dig deeper into specific decisions and tasks.

a few tips for meeting one-on-one with an employee or volunteer:

• create an agenda: even if it’s a less formal agenda, or it’s an agenda that lives in your head – still take the time to think through what needs to be discussed, decided, and planned. don’t treat it like a coffee date where you’ll just casually chat hoping that by the end, everything has been discussed. most likely, it won’t be discussed if you don’t have a plan!
• encourage personal catch up: when you are one on one, it’s a perfect time to catch up on each other’s families, and hobbies, and vacations. but, just like you would in a larger group meeting setting, set a time limit for personal conversations and be sure to move on when time has expired. sandy and i share a passion for cooking and are big fans of aarti sequeira, so after a few minutes of catching up on our favorite recipes, we were back to our task list.
• delegate action steps: it may feel strange to review action steps at the end of a one-on-one meeting, but it’s crucial that each person understand what to do next. at the end of the meeting, review the discussion, delegate next steps, and agree to an action plan.

enjoy your one-on-one meetings this week! and, please share your best tips for making the most of time with an employee or volunteer.

oh! and starting next week, sandy will be writing a weekly blog series called “diary of an intern” on her internship leadership learnings!

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