People Managers, Be Prepared!

How Great Managers Prepare for 1–1s

As people managers, we’re told it’s important to prepare before catchups with our team members. We’re told it will help us to have productive conversations, to address any concerns, and to provide feedback. But has anyone ever told you how to prepare? Thought not.

Next time, MAP it.

M.A.P. — Message to land, Asks for each of you, Phrases to use or to lose.

Message to land

Chances are, your team member will remember just one thing from this catch up. What do you want it to be? Whatever it is, the message should be clear and concise, backed up with evidence and specific examples. If necessary, do your research by speaking to team members the individual has recently worked with to get multiple perspectives.

You might write down…

• You still have a way to go before promotion. Let’s think about your development and how to get there, not when to get there.

Asks for each of you

The individual may ask questions: what questions will they have? Can you find out the answer in advance?

You might write down…

• How long until I get promoted? We can’t define a time, it will depend how your capabilities develop and what opportunities come up to practise them

• What can I do to make it happen faster? You’re on track — focus on developing capabilities that excite and interest you

You may be asked to take action: What do you need to do to support your team member after the catch up? Think of concrete action points and communicate them to the individual in the meeting.

You might write down…

• Tell my manager we’ve had this chat

• Schedule follow-up conversation to talk through performance goals and areas for development

Phrases to use or lose

Jot down some phrases you want to use in order to emphasise the key message, and some phrases you want to avoid, lest they detract from the key message:

You might write down…

• Talk about development, learning, moving forward

• Avoid promotion, progression, new role

Bonus Tips!

• You’re giving someone feedback — encourage them to ask you for feedback too.

• Send a follow-up after the catch up to recap the key points

• Go into the catchup feeling confident you’ve done all you can to prepare!