"I don't know what to talk to my manager about in my 1:1."
(#7 is the most important - yet often missed)
Here are 7 suggestions:
1. Align on top 3 priorities over the upcoming period ↳"Here's what I am focused on over the next 2 weeks..."
2. Share feedback about others or your manager ↳"I appreciated you adding me to meeting XYZ; I was able to identify..."
3. Seek feedback ↳"Any advice on how I could have handled situation XYZ more effectively?"
4. Present ideas you have ↳"I noticed that across our teams, we are spending X hours/week triaging ABC; I wanted to propose..."
5. Review progress on career growth plan ↳"Since our last career growth plan review, I have made progress on the objective of leading a project. My next milestone is to drive the steering group review."
6. Seek guidance on key challenges ↳"I am facing a challenge with getting support from team ABC on project XYZ, any guidance on how I can improve our collaboration?"
7. Personal Check-In ↳"The past few days have been hectic at home, preparing for our house move..."
What would you add to the list?
PS: Even if you think a particular discussion point is insignificant, it might be the very thing you need to discuss. Trust the process.
PPS: Project and status updates are better done offline. If you do cover them in 1:1 - timebox them to be able to discuss the rest.
