Three Coaching Questions for Opening 1:1 Meetings
Category Archives: 1:1 Meetings
Virtual Training Activity – Helping your manager with your own 1:1s
INTRODUCTION
In this session, participants will reflect on actions they can take to improve their own one-to-one meetings with their manager.
DURATION (ESTIMATED)
- 30-minutes
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Take three actions to improve their own one-to-one meetings (with their manager).
WORKBOOK
- Yes
PREPARATION
- None
PREREQUISITES
- Participants should know what one-to-one meetings are and their purpose.
- They should be able to identify behaviours that lead to effective one-to-one meetings.
FACILITATION GUIDE
- Introduce the activity by sharing the learning objective with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVE.
- Tell them that:
- In this session, we are going to look briefly at your one-to-one meetings with your manages.
- Specifically, we will explore some actions you can take to improve the effectiveness of your one-to-ones with your managers.
- Next, direct each person to the section of their workbooks titled – 7 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE 1:1S WITH YOUR MANAGER.
- Give them 5-minutes to read the information there.
- After they’ve read the information, use the ‘breakout room’ feature to split them into pairs.
- Then tell them to do the activity in the part of their workbooks titled – YOUR THREE ACTIONS.
- Give them 7-minutes to do the activity.
- When the 7-minutes is up, stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.
- Instead of asking them to talk about their three actions, tell them to write in the chat window. Give them 5-minutes for that.
- When they are writing down their actions, read through them quietly so you don’t distract them.
- After 5-minutes, stop them and thank them for doing the activity. Then let them know you are going to read what they wrote down loudly so they can hear.
- Read out what they wrote down. You can do it by saying something like – ‘Thanks Angie for your three actions you said you will, … And David your three actions are to… Thank you.”
- After you’ve finished reading out the information, let them know that they can take more than three actions and ask if there are any other actions they can take or they are already taking that was not on the information they read earlier.
- Give them 90-seconds to think about that. When the time is up ask for their input and listen to them and note down what they said.
- After they finish speaking, feedback what you heard them say and thank them for the information.
- Then ask them if they have any comments and / or questions about what has been discussed during the session.
- Listen to any they have and respond (only if necessary).
- After that, review the session by telling them that:
- During this session we explored what actions we can take with our managers to improve the effectiveness of our one-to-one meetings with them.
- You read some information about things you can do and individually identified three actions you can take from the information to make your one-to-ones with your managers more effective.
- We also talked about other things you may be able to do that was not on the information you read.
- After that, thank them for their participation and end the session.
Virtual Activity – Practising One-To-Ones in Small Groups
INTRODUCTION
In this session, participants will practice having one-to-one meetings in small groups and give each other feedback.
DURATION (ESTIMATED)
- 90-minutes
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After going through this session, participants will have:
- Gone through practice sessions in small groups to help them develop effective one-to-one meeting skills
WORKBOOK
- Yes
PREPARATION
- None
PREREQUISITES
- Participants should know what one-to-one meetings are and their purpose.
- They should be able to identify behaviours that lead to effective one-to-one meetings.
FACILITATION GUIDE
- Introduce the activity by sharing the learning objective with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVE.
- After displaying the slide, tell them that:
- Having the knowledge about how to have effective one-to-ones is not enough.
- We need to be able to put that knowledge into practice.
- To validate some of what we have learnt you are going to practice doing one-to-one meetings in small groups
- Display the slide titled – PRACTICE IN SMALL GROUPS.
- Tell them that:
- You will practice in groups of threes.
- Each person in a group will rotate through the roles of manager, team member and observer.
- Each one-to-one practice session will last for a maximum of 10-minutes.
- During the one-to-one meeting the observer will observe and take down notes which they will feedback to the manager after the practice session.
- There are guidance notes and three case studies in your workbooks.
- In your groups decide on which case study each person will use.
- All the case studies have information which you will need to read beforehand to get ready.
- You will be given an initial 10-minutes to prepare and then 45-minutes for the practice sessions. 30-minutes for the actual practice and 15-minutes for feedback from the observer.
- Display the next slide titled – GIVING FEEDBACK.
- Tell them that:
- Let’s remember that the purpose of feedback is to help people learn and develop.
- It is not for judgement or criticism. Each observer should follow the steps outlined here to ask for and give feedback.
- They should first ask the team member about how the one-to-one went for them.
- Next, they should ask the manager to talk about their experience of the one-to-one. How did it go for them?
- Finally, observers should then talk about what they felt the manager did well and what they can do differently next time to make the one-to-one meeting even better.
- Next, direct them to the section in their workbooks titled – INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRACTICE SESSION.
Virtual Training Activity – Practising One-To-Ones
INTRODUCTION
In this session, participants will observe a demonstration of a one-to-one meeting practice session and give feedback about it.
DURATION (ESTIMATED)
- 60-minutes
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- During this session, participants will observe and give feedback about one-to-one meeting practice sessions to help them develop effective one-to-one meeting skills.
WORKBOOK
- Yes
PREPARATION
- None
PREREQUISITES
- Participants should know what one-to-one meetings are and their purpose.
- They should be able to identify behaviours that lead to effective one-to-one meetings.
FACILITATION GUIDE
- Introduce the activity by sharing the learning objective with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVE.
- After displaying the slide, tell them that:
- Having the knowledge about how to have effective one-to-one meetings is not enough.
- We need to be able to put that knowledge into practice.
- In this session we will have some practice sessions which you will observe and give feedback on to help you learn what to do and what not to do during a one-to-one meeting.
- Next display the slide titled – JIM AND GEMMA.
- Let them know that during the practice session, you, the facilitator will act as the Jim, the manager.
- Two willing participants will act as Gemma, the team member.
- The rest of the group will observe and give feedback after the practice sessions.
- Refer them to the session in their workbooks titled – JIM AND GEMMA. Give them 3-minutes to read the information there.
- After they’ve read the information, use the ‘breakout rooms’ feature to split them into two small groups to prepare for the practice session. Give them 10-minutes to prepare (the information they will read to prepare is below).
- Make sure that you (facilitator acting as manager) are also prepared to act as Jim by reading the information in the section of the workbook titled – PRACTICE SCENARIO – JIM, THE MANAGER.
- For this first practice session, the aim is for you to do a really short but poor one-to-one meeting. Do this by:
- Starting the one-to-one meeting without doing a wellbeing check-in or asking for Gemma’s agenda items.
- Don’t ask how she is doing.
- Just give her updates by telling Gemma, that there is a big project coming the team’s way.
- Also, tell her that you hope she has registered for the qualification you talked about previously and that she did the night shift handover properly.
- Don’t ask her any questions. After the updates end the meeting.
- After the practice session put them back into two groups to prepare their feedback for 6-minutes.
- When the 6-minutes is up, bring them back to the main room and ask for each group’s feedback and listen to them.
- The only thing that went well is that the one-to-one meeting happened and the updates Jim gave.
- There are a number of things that should be done differently. Jim could have:
- Made the agenda setting more collaborative by asking for what Gemma wants to talk about then tell her what he wants to discuss also.
- Asked how Gemma is doing and checked if she has any concerns (wellbeing check in).
- Gone through Gemma’s agenda items first before discussing his.
- Asked her about any upcoming priorities she has and what, if any, support she needs.
- Given her necessary feedback, particularly appreciative feedback to help her see where she is doing well.
- Asked her if she has anything else to discuss.
- Identified any actions that they both need to complete and documented them.
- If they identified any of the above in their feedback, you don’t need to repeat them. Only mention any that they missed out.
- Next get ready to do the second practice session. This time the volunteer from the other group will act as Gemma.
- The aim of this practice session is to demonstrate a much better one-to-one meeting.
- Use the steps outlined in the part of their workbook titled – PRACTICE SCENARIO – JIM, THE MANAGER for this practice session.
- As you did previously, have the one-to-one meeting with Gemma while the other participants observe and take notes.
- Then put them back into the two small groups they were in before for 6-minutes to discuss their observations and prepare their feedback that will be delivered through a nominated spokesperson.
- When the time is up, stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.
- Then listen to the feedback from each group. They should have observed you do the following:
- Ask about Gemma’s wellbeing, concerns, and anything she needs help with.
- Ask for her agenda items.
- Tell her your own agenda items.
- Go through all the agenda items starting with hers.
- Discuss upcoming priorities.
- Give her updates.
- Give her feedback.
- Express gratitude.
- Ask if she has anything else to discuss.
- Identify and document actions.
- Only mention any of the above if they didn’t talk about it as part of their feedback.
- After their feedback, thank them for taking part in the practice session and let them know that you have one more activity for them which is an individual reflection activity.
- Direct them to the section in their workbooks titled – REFLECTION FROM PRACTICE.
- Tell them to spend 6-minutes on the activity and afterward you will ask them to share a summary of their reflections.
- After 6-minutes, stop them and get everyone’s attention.
- Ask each participant to share a summary of the reflection they just did and listen to them without commenting.
- Thank them for sharing their reflections and then move on to review the session.
- Review the session by telling them that:
- This session focused on practising how to have one-to-one sessions.
- There were two practice sessions which you observed and gave feedback on and hopefully you got some lessons that can be applied in your own one-to-ones.
- After that, end the session.
This is the end of the session.
VIRTUAL ACTIVITY: WHAT DO EFFECTIVE 1:1s LOOK LIKE?
INTRODUCTION
In this session, participants will identify what effective one-to-one meetings look like. They will discuss some of the qualities of effective one-to-one meetings.
DURATION (ESTIMATED)
- 30-minutes
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After going through this session, participants will be able to
- List and describe three actions they can take to make their one-to-one meetings more effective
WORKBOOK
- Yes
PREPARATION
- None
PREREQUISITES
- Participants should know what one-to-one meetings are and their purpose.
FACILITATION GUIDE
- Introduce the activity by sharing the learning objective with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVE.
- After displaying the slide, tell them that:
- In this session we want to explore what effective one-to-one meetings look like so we can identify some concrete actions to take to ensure they are beneficial to us and our team members
- We know that one-to-one meetings can help to build trust between managers and team members, guide team members development and give you the opportunity to have open and honest conversations with the people you manage.
- These benefits are only possible if our one-to-ones meetings are done effectively. We want to answer a key question in this session which is – What do effective one-to-one meetings look like?
- Direct each person to the section of their workbooks titled – TWO ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS.
- They should read the information for about 8-minutes.
- After they’ve read the information, tell them you are going to split them into small groups to do the activity in the section of their workbooks titled – TWO ONE-TO-ONES: DIFFERENCES AND LESSONS (you may share the page on screen to further explain what they will do in their small groups).
- Use the ‘breakout rooms’ feature to put them into small groups. Ideally, no group should have more than three people (maximum of four).
- Give them 10-minutes for the activity. If they need more time, you can give them an extra 5-minutes.
- Join each room briefly to check that they understand what they are required to do.
- When their time is up, stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.
- Thank them for doing the activity and let them know that you will first explore what didn’t work well in both one-to-one meetings.
- After that you explore what worked well in each of the meetings.
- Then you will ask each person for one lesson that will make their one-to-one meetings more effective.
- Go through this process by first listening to each group talk about what didn’t work well, then what worked well and ask each person for one lesson.
- After having that discussion, let them know that you are going to share with them some actions we can take to make out one-to-one meetings more effective.
- The information summarises some of what they identified as what worked well from Pablo’s one-to-one meeting with Bernice.
- Display the slide titled – ACTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE ONE-TO-ONES.
- When the slide displays it will be blank with just a title. You will need to click on the slide six times to display information and each time read out the information to them. You don’t need any extra information because it is self-explanatory.
- After presenting the information, let them know that the information you just presented is in their workbooks.
- There’s also an excerpt from a Harvard Business Review article by Rebecca Knight titled – HOW TO MAKE YOUR ONE-ON-ONES WITH EMPLOYEES MORE PRODUCTIVE in their workbooks.
- Give them 5-minutes to read through the article.
- Next direct each of them to another section in their workbooks titled – THREE PERSONAL ACTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE ONE-TO-ONES.
- Tell them to read the information there and complete the reflective activity.
- Give them 5-minutes to do it.
- After that, ask each of them to go into the chat window and share one of the actions they wrote down in their workbooks.
- Allow up to 3-minutes for them to write down their actions and as they do, read through them quietly so you don’t distract them.
- After 3-minutes, stop them and appreciate them for doing the activity. Then read out all the actions they wrote in the chat window, while at the same time appreciating each person that wrote the action.
- After that, move on to review what was discussed during the session.
- Tell them that:
- During this session, we explored actions we can all take to make our one-to-one meetings more effective.
- We compared two one-to-ones to see what went well and what can be done to make them much better.
- Finally, you reflected on three actions you will take to improve your own one-to-one meetings and shared one of them.
- After that, end the session.
This is the end of the session.
VIRTUAL ACTIVITY – BENEFITS OF 1:1 MEETINGS
INTRODUCTION
In this session, participants will discuss the benefits of one-to-one meetings.
DURATION (ESTIMATED)
- 20-minutes
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After going through this session, participants will be able to
- Describe what the benefits of one-to-one meetings are to the organization, manager, and employee.
WORKBOOK
- Yes
PREPARATION
- None
PREREQUISITES
- Participants should know what one-to-one meetings are and their purpose.
FACILITATION GUIDE
- Introduce the activity by sharing the learning objective with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVE.
- After displaying the slide, tell them that:
- During this session, we will explore the benefits of one-to-one meetings from three perspectives.
- To start the discussion, you will discuss the benefits in three small groups.
- Refer them to the section of their workbooks titled – THREE BENEFITS. Let them read the information for about 30-seconds.
- After they’ve read the information, check that they understand what they are to do and explain it clearly again if necessary.
- Then use the ‘breakout rooms’ feature to put them into three small groups to do the activity.
- Give them 6-minutes to do it.
- After 6-minutes stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.
- Allow each group to share their answers on the screen and talk through them.
- Then check if anyone has any questions and/or comments about any of the presentations from the groups.
- If there are, allow the group concerned to respond. You should only get involved in responding if necessary.
- When they finish, appreciate them for doing the activity and presenting their feedback.
- Then tell them that you also have some information to share with them.
- Direct them to the section in their workbooks titled – BENEFITS OF ONE-TO-ONES.
- Give them 3-minutes to read through the information.
- After that, check for any questions and/or comments about the information they read. Respond only if necessary.
- Next, review what was covered during the session by telling them that:
- During this session, we discussed the benefits of one-to-one meetings from three perspectives.
- We looked at how one-to-ones benefit you the manager, your team members, and the organization.
- After that end the session.
This is the end of the session.
Virtual Activity – Two Initial Questions (about 1:1 meetings)
INTRODUCTION
One-to-one meetings are one of the most important tools that managers can use to support their team members. They can help managers build trust with team members, manage performance improvement, support career development, provide ongoing development and develop their own skills. These virtual training activities can be used to deliver bite-sized sessions on their own or combined to create longer courses. In this activity participants will explore what one-to-ones are and their purpose.
DURATION (ESTIMATED)
- 20-minutes
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After going through this session, participants will be able to:
- Explain what one-to-ones are and their purpose.
WORKBOOKS
- Yes
PREPARATION
- None
PREREQUISITES
- None
FACILITATION GUIDE
- Introduce the activity by sharing the learning objective with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVE.
- After displaying the slide, tell them that:
- During this session we will answer two questions which are:
- What is a one-to-one meeting?
- What is the purpose of one-to-one meetings?
- Let them know you are going to put them in pairs to discuss the questions.
- Direct them to the part of their workbooks titled – TWO INITIAL QUESTIONS. The instructions for the activity are there for them to read.
- During this session we will answer two questions which are:
- Then use the ‘breakout rooms’ feature to put them into pairs.
- Give them 6-minutes to answer the questions.
- After 6-minutes stop them and allow each pair to first tell you how they defined one-to-one meetings.
- Listen to them without commenting.
- Then ask them again what they discussed about the purpose of one-to-ones and listen to them again without commenting.
- After listening to their answers, appreciate them for doing the activity and let them know you also have a definition of one-to-ones to share with them.
- Display the slide titled – WHAT?
- When the slide displays allow them to read the information on it for about 30-seconds. Then ask them for any comments and / or questions about the definition and listen.
- Only respond if necessary.
- Next, direct them to the section in their workbooks titled – PURPOSE OF ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS.
- Give them 3-minutes to read the information there.
- When they have finished, ask them for any questions and / or comments about what they just read.
- Listen to any questions and / or comments that they have and respond appropriately if necessary.
- After that review what was discussed during the session by telling them that:
- During this short session, we discussed what one-to-one meetings are.
- We also looked at the purpose of one-to-one meetings.
- After that end the session.
This is the end of the session.
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