The most important meeting a leader can have is the one on one with their team. I recently wrote a post about the the agenda for a successful one on one and received a lot of feedback. One of the recurring themes was a list of top questions for one on ones.
You know, it’s pretty interesting how most leaders agree that spending time with their team members is super important, but not many actually plan for it to be successful. I’ll admit, I wasn’t exactly the most organized leader in the beginning, and as a result, the meetings I had with my team members weren’t really valuable for either of us.
Time is a precious resource and when we don’t use it wisely, we’re just wasting opportunities for building strong relationships, boosting productivity, and ultimately achieving success as a team. But without some solid planning, those opportunities can slip through our fingers.
Back in the day, I didn’t allocate enough time to prepare questions for one on ones. I would just show up and hope for the best, without a clear agenda or purpose. Can you guess what happened? Chaos, my friend. Total chaos. Our interactions lacked structure and direction, leaving my team members feeling lost and uninterested. It was like going through the motions instead of actually getting stuff done. I began developing a list of questions for one on ones to help me gain structure and make the meetings productive.
But hey, I learned my lesson and decided to change my leadership game. I started investing some serious time into planning and preparing for each meeting. I made sure I had a solid agenda and specific goals to tackle. And you know what? It made a world of difference. Suddenly, I had some control over the conversation, and we were all on the same page. It was like magic.
Improve your questions for one on ones
Going into one on ones with your recruiting team with a plan of questions is key to success. Most leaders have a go to list of questions for one on ones to help increase the effectiveness of the time. Here are a couple of examples:
To Gauge Job Satisfaction:
- What interests you about the project(s) you’re currently working on, and why?
- What is your favorite/least favorite thing about your work right now?
Tackling Difficult Issues:
- What do you think you could be doing differently?
- If you could work on anything for the next month, what would it be? What makes you say that?
Company/Team Culture
- What’s the biggest opportunity we’re missing out on?
- If we could improve in any way as a company, how would we do it?
I have noticed many recruiting leaders I coach struggle to have a list of questions for one on ones handy. Personally, I developed an extensive bank I keep handy while preparing for one on ones just in case I need them. I want to be sure I get what I need out of the meetings as much as the recruiters understanding I care and am invested in their success.
Bonus: Bank of questions for one on ones
To help you get started or to refine your current practices, I put together a free e-book of questions you can consider for different situations. I have found keeping this list of questions for one on ones handy helps me avoid blackouts during my time with team members, especially when the topics can be challenging or uncomfortable.
If you would like to download this free resource, please complete this form to be sent the link!
Let me tell you this: planning and prepping for meaningful team interactions is a total game-changer.
Trust me, I’ve been there and learned the hard way that unorganized meetings are a recipe for disaster. But when you take the time to get your act together, create a clear agenda, and get to know your team members on a personal level, it’s like a whole new world opens up. Suddenly, those meetings become exciting opportunities for collaboration, growth, and ultimate success. So, let’s keep this lesson in mind and make every interaction count as we lead our teams to greatness.