Our weeks are filled with an endless parade of meetings. Now, taking video calls all day from home. Cycling from Google Hangouts to Zoom and back like a post apocalyptic PG rated version of Chat Roulette. On and onnn they go.

One category of meeting rises above them all in importance. It is the Freedom Tower of meetings. First popularized in Andy Grove’s High Output Management (we think), the 1×1 is an essential forum of communication with direct reports to stay in the loop and keep a team operating at a high level.

There are a ton of great resources out there on the Internet around how to run effective 1x1s from companies like Radical Candor or this really helpful post on 101 questions for 1x1s. So why not add to the pile?

Borrowing some inspiration from a recent discussion with a couple friends, here are some “101” type thoughts for running effective 1x1s:

• Hold 1x1s Regularly: What? Obviously. Well, maybe not. This is a 101, ok? 1x1s need to be held regularly, full stop. Ideally weekly, but no more infrequently than bi-weekly for all direct reports. You can never be too busy for them. Most CEOs you know aren’t. They are an essential part of information transfer through an organization. Do them.

• Aim for Consistency – The goal is for the cadence, time, and format to remain consistent. It’s important to show your team this meeting is a priority for you and therefore a priority for them. Try not to reschedule them. Don’t be late. Don’t run over. How you run these meetings is how the team will run their meetings through the process of corporate osmosis. No 1×1 will be the same and yet they should all resemble one another. Make sense?

• Agree on Structure – Eliminate ambiguity by setting the structure for the type of content that will be covered, the expectation of the preparation level, and how often topics will be revisited. Some meetings should be more regimented, some should be more open. Keep rotating back to the same themes regularly.
  • Allow time for your people to vent, voice struggles, give feedback, receive feedback & tackle improvement areas
  • Make sure to walk through the “regular updates” but not necessarily every time. Just enough to be up to date so more strategic items can be tackled
  • Make time to talk about career goals and how they can grow. Experiment with introducing a quarterly cadence to outline high level goals and then check in monthly to track progress

• Assign Ownership – the burden of the 1×1 should be owned by the direct report, not the manager. It is their duty to maintain a high level of preparation, information transfer, and quality of content. Don’t fall into the trap of stepping in to prepare for your underprepared direct report and carry the agenda. You’ll think you’re helping them. You’re not.

• Beware External Context – be attentive to the context of the meeting. Things like walking outside for the discussion vs. staying in a conference room (in the before times). Or turning your camera on. Or eliminating background noise (if possible). Work to minimize external distractions or at least acknowledge them if they’ll exist.
  • Do you really need to eat your meal during this meeting?
  • If you’re on parental duties, try setting the context with the other party. They’ll understand
  • Limit the external distractions to keep the focus on the meeting

Is anything here new? Maybe not. But sometimes these things are worth a little primer. In the pandemic, people forget!