How to Run Effective One-on-One Meetings in 2025

Corral all of your one-on-one meeting agendas in one central and accessible place that you both can access at any time. Decide on a time and cadence that works best. If this is your first one-on-one with an employee, decide what time works best for both you and your direct report to meet and a cadence you can reliably commit to. Overall, effective one-on-ones contribute to higher engagement, continuous performance management, and a more positive, supportive workplace culture. A one-on-one meeting is a regular, scheduled conversation between a manager and an individual team member, normally on a weekly or biweekly basis.

Use video calls for personal connection, share agendas in advance, and consider collaborative documents to track discussion points and follow-ups. This ensures meetings remain focused and productive even when not in the same location. Both the manager and the direct report should add 2–4 talking points before the meeting.

What to Talk About in a One-on-One Meeting

Timeboxing keeps the meeting on track, ensures high-priority topics get attention, and prevents meetings from drifting into unstructured conversations. Weekly meetings are short and focused on keeping work moving smoothly. Typically, they cover immediate tasks, clarify priorities, and identify any obstacles.

Make space for relationship-building

One-on-one meetings are powerful tools for strengthening relationships, solving challenges, and driving results. With the right preparation and focus, they evolve from simple updates into strategic conversations that boost engagement and retention. Always conclude the meeting by summarizing key takeaways and next steps. Review action items and accountability on both sides.

A case for gap time (How to be productive between meetings)

Spinach AI runs the agenda, takes accurate https://p1nup.in/ meeting notes and automates tasks. Create a baseline by consistently asking your employee for their outlook after your one-on-one meeting. Has their outlook gotten worse, better or stayed the same? Monitoring feedback can help you track engagement and identify red flags faster. If you’re not vulnerable with your team, you can’t expect them to do the same with you. So don’t be afraid to ask a silly question or admit fallibility — it’ll help you build a stronger relationship.

• By following these steps after each one-on-one, you ensure that talk leads to tangible progress.
• Whether you’re a manager or an employee, asking thoughtful questions can turn a routine meeting into a meaningful dialogue.
• To validate the PIN, the issuing bank calculates the natural PIN as in the above method, then adds the offset and compares this value to the entered PIN.
• To make one-on-one meetings productive, use a clear and consistent meeting structure, such as a one on one meeting template.
• Psychological safety means each person feels they can speak openly without fear of negative consequences​.
• Planning, setting expectations, and consistent scheduling are key to setting off on the right foot.

First, they support employee development by creating time for coaching, skill-building, and long-term goal setting. Second, they drive manager alignment, ensuring both sides understand expectations, priorities, and roadblocks. Finally, they contribute to culture building—consistent one-on-one meetings send a strong message that people matter, and their voices are heard.

Plus, get an understanding of what their personal goals are so you can work towards them together. If you’re introducing regular one-on-ones (or rebooting an old process), clearly communicate to your team what you’re doing and why. Explain how you plan to run these meetings, how often they’ll occur, and what everyone can expect. This ensures both you and your direct reports start on the same page with aligned expectations. Choose the top three most important items for the meeting and assign estimated times for each.

Every one-on-one should have a purpose or goal decided in advance. The manager and employee should collaboratively define what they want to get out of the meeting​. One-on-one meetings are among the most powerful tools for engaging and developing employees. In the context of a financial transaction, usually both a private “PIN code” and public user identifier are required to authenticate a user to the system. Upon receiving the user ID and PIN, the system looks up the PIN based upon the user ID and compares the looked-up PIN with the received PIN.

One-on-one meetings are important tools in the people management toolbox because they provide a platform for open communication between managers and team members. It’s also a space for managers to provide personalized support, offer feedback, and align on goals. Because one-on-ones can cover a lot of ground, it’s important to balance your discussions over time. A helpful approach is to ensure you’re talking about a mix of short-term work topics and longer-term growth topics. Setting a goal focuses the conversation and ensures time is used effectively.

Begin each one-on-one by breaking the ice with a bit of personal conversation. While it might feel trivial, starting with a personal check-in helps improve rapport and creates a sense of psychological safety​. Sometimes you need a quick tactical sync, and other times you’ll want a deeper coaching conversation. Below are categorized agenda prompts you can adapt based on the purpose of the meeting. Use them as a base, then personalize to fit your team’s style.

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Even if it seems a little forced at first, you’ll quickly get into the habit of scheduling prep time and creating agendas. When they set the agenda, it empowers them to take ownership of their development and ensures the meeting is tailored to their priorities. In practice, not every meeting will touch all four categories, but over a month or so you should aim to give each area some attention​. Sharing responsibility in this way builds trust, and it reminds both parties that the one-on-one is ultimately the employee’s time to focus on their needs and growth​. There can be debate about who “owns” a one-on-one meeting’s agenda. While managers typically initiate the meeting, the best one-on-ones are a shared responsibility.

helps managers run better

Your 1 on 1 meeting template should be a guide, not a script. The real magic happens when one on one meetings are regular and expected. Whether it’s weekly or biweekly, stick to a cadence that builds trust and momentum. Most meetings feel like a waste of time, but one-on-ones are different. When done right, they’re the most powerful tool for building relationships and driving results. Both you and your employee should be able to quickly and easily access past meeting notes, to review next steps, decisions made and conversations covered.

A one on one meeting is a recurring, dedicated conversation between a manager and an individual team member. Unlike team meetings that focus on projects or performance reviews that assess past results, one-on-one meetings are designed for real-time connection, support, and growth. Learn how to run effective group meetings with practical tips for team leaders. This guide covers key strategies like assigning a facilitator, setting clear agendas, encouraging participation, and using scheduling tools. Feedback isn’t only for quarterly reviews. If nothing else, your one-on-one needs to be a safe space to share feedback.

Do we hate meetings or just bad meetings? A case on directing blame to the wrong place. Open up the conversation by avoiding close-ended yes or no questions. If you do ask a yes or no question, follow-up with a why. Pay attention to non-verbal communication.

Example One-on-One Meeting Questions By Type

Whether big or small, your one-on-ones are a consistant opportunity to address any concerns as soon as possible so your direct report has the chance to course-correct. Then, when it does come time for quarterly reviews, no one’s left blindsided. Conclude the meeting by summarizing key takeaways and expressing appreciation for the participant’s input. A brief note in the shared agenda reinforces the discussion and ensures both parties leave with clarity.

• Instead, vary the conversation by asking your manager questions, requesting feedback or advice, and bringing up topics you want input on​.
• Decide on format (in-person, video conference, or phone).
• Try to be on time, like you would for any other important meeting.
• As a manager, remember your primary role in a one-on-one is to support and listen, not to command.
• Worse, it becomes easy to forget what was discussed from one meeting to the next.

Strengthening your interpersonal bond will increase this person’s loyalty, trust, communication and investment in your shared success. The employee’s goals and concerns should drive most of the conversation. As the manager, your role is to listen, ask probing questions, and remove obstacles.