Rand nails 1 on 1s. Just go read it.

Your people are your greatest strength, your greatest asset, the most precious thing. They’re constantly looking at your actions and lack of action, your voice or lack of voice, a thousand tiny signals you give to the people you manage that let them know how you value them as humans and as necessary and valued contributors to the team.

1 on 1s are your dedicated opportunity to listen, to elicit, to dig around and learn about these wonderful complex complicated delightful people. It’s not a status report. It’s an investment in your relationship with this person and in the success of your team.

A 1:1 is your chance to perform weekly preventive maintenance while also understanding the health of your team. A 1:1 is a place to listen for what they aren’t saying.

The sound that surrounds successful regimen of 1:1s is silence. All of the listening, questioning, and discussion that happens during a 1:1 is managerial preventative maintenance. … Your reward for a culture of healthy 1:1s is a distinct lack of drama.

The Update, The Vent, and The Disaster