Great people management is more than 1:1s
Building a rhythm of connection with each person you manage
Having a rhythm of connection with each person you manage is so important, it provides something predictable within the ever changing environment of an early stage tech company.
I place a big emphasis on balancing challenge and support with people I manage. That means providing spaces where I listen, and spaces where I provide input, direction and feedback. This is about more than just a 1:1.
The regular connection points you should have with each person you manage are:
Weekly 1:1s
Bi-weekly working sessions
Quarterly 360 reviews, and weekly feedback shares
Development chats, on a cadence that works for the individual
There were times at Monzo where we went through redundancies, we went through intense funding rounds, we had big changes in strategy, and we had a tonne of new people joining quickly. These different ways of connecting with people don’t solve hard problems in themselves. But having these in place helped me collaborate with people I managed, forge strong connections, and made sure I was providing regular and predictable support to each and every one of them.
I talk through these different sessions / connection points with pretty much everyone I coach. I created this set of connection points from the teams I’d been in myself (at Hootsuite, Intercom and Monzo) where I’d benefitted from great managers. I took the best from all of those places, added a bit of my own take, and landed with the set and approach that I go through below.
A few notes on what I’ve not covered because I wanted to keep this focused:
Team rituals: Team meetings, product reviews, design workshops and other ways to bring your team together.
Onboarding: Again super important, just too much detail to try and cover here.
Expectation setting: both for a new role / promotion, ways of working and new project.
Which of these would you be most excited to read about in a future post?
Weekly 1:1s
What’s the goal? 🎯
I did some manager training when I was at Monzo, and the thing that stuck with me was this concept that your singular job going into a 1:1 was to understand “what was on the other person’s piece of paper”. The idea was that most of the important topics and challenges go left unsaid in a 1:1. Most people have a list of the real topics - maybe they’re super stressed about that upcoming project, maybe a loved one is sick and it’s taking a big toll on their work, maybe they’re worried that they haven’t got the right people on their team.
You might not be able to solve every one of these challenges and problems. But understanding and being aware is a hundred times better than not knowing at all. In the past if I’ve known and understood that someone is the primary caregiver for a family member that’s unwell, it gives the space to open up a conversation about how you can help them figure out how to balance work and life.
Listening is the most important goal of 1:1s, figuring out solutions together is number two.
Listening: There is research on the positive outcomes that are linked to someone experiencing high quality (attentive, empathic, and non-judgmental) listening. Specifically those positive outcomes are that they feel more supported, and they’re able to act more effectively and self solve problems. Listening is powerful. Listen weekly.
Solutions: In most situations I ask someone what they’ve tried already, and I ask them what their options going forward are. If they’re stuck, I suggest solutions or offer to circle back with some ideas. If they bring something up that’s on me to solve (e.g. they want to understand higher level company context or they need my approval for training / time off) I offer a solution there and then, or come back to them.
What does good look like? 😍
The agenda is set by the individual. I don’t need this to be shared in advance, I usually start by collecting a list of topics.
You end with a list of actions & next steps - usually for both the manager and the direct report.
They happen every week. I do 30 mins weekly.
They are scheduled in advance and they don’t move.
Both people are on time.
What are the most common mistakes? 😡
Manager setting the agenda (if you’ve got stuff to work on, use the working session)
Cancelled if no agenda
Regularly moving the time
Bi-weekly working sessions
What’s the goal? 🎯
These are your space to work through problems together - whether that’s white-boarding new designs, understanding metrics and data, preparing for a board meeting. There’s a lot of work that happens where collaboration is invaluable.
If we have a change in company strategy I’ll do a working session with my team to talk through what it means and get them to share back what it means for their team.
If we’re about to launch a new product, I’ll use a working session to go through the plan end to end. The group might be me, PM, tech lead, head of engineering.
If we’re in discovery we’ll talk through the research so far. The group might be me, PM, researcher, designer.
The goal here is to give feedback, challenge where we’re at from an outside perspective and offer context where I have it. Working sessions are about being on the same team, they’re not about grading and assessing work. It’s about the power of multiple brains thinking on problems, it’s not about controlling the details.
What does good look like? 😍
Working sessions are 45 minutes long, and happen (on average) every two weeks.
Topic is set by both manager and direct report.
Topic is agreed in advance - often it requires someone to prepare to make the most of the time
Small group sessions - 4 people max
They are scheduled in, but should and will change depending on milestones in that two week period.
You spend the time actively working, these are not update or alignment meetings.
What are the most common mistakes? 😡
They become presentations vs time spent together actively working towards the same goal
There are too many people invited, and it no longer feels like a safe working environment
As the manager you don’t participate in setting the agenda: you should be proactive about the product work where your input and feedback is valuable
As the manager you schedule these so sporadically that they always become context sharing meetings, vs working sessions
Weekly feedback shares and quarterly 360 reviews
What’s the goal? 🎯
The goal of giving feedback is to build an individual's self awareness. As a manager, one of the most impactful things that you can do is gather and provide your own feedback on someone’s strengths and their growth edges. This feedback helps someone understand where they are today, and where they can move toward.
There is only so much that internal reflection and assessment can do. You need other people’s input to truly understand how you’re doing at work.
There are two types of feedback, with slightly different goals.
Regular, timely feedback: this helps someone get regular input into how they’re doing - both positive and constructive.
Consolidated 360 feedback: this helps someone get a solid understanding of how they’re doing compared to the expectations of their role.
It’s important that you have something in place for both of these. Some people weave feedback into weekly 1:1s but I prefer to give feedback in the moment, vs waiting a few days.
What does good look like? 😍
Weekly feedback shares
You should be sharing feedback, on average, once a week
Give feedback as it happens, vs waiting for 1:1s
Choose the medium that works best for the individual (ask them) and also use your discretion based on the feedback e.g. I don’t give constructive feedback via slack, there's too much room for interpretation.
Quarterly 360 feedback
You should be giving high quality, comprehensive, consolidated, feedback every quarter.
Collect feedback from a range of peers, and ask your direct report to suggest peers to get feedback from
Ask your direct report for their self reflection / own feedback
Include your feedback
Pull out themes
Provide feedback in a written form
Have an initial session to go through feedback, and a follow up session for them to share their reflections. Give people time to process and read through in their own time.
Learn how to give feedback well. This could be a whole blogpost, but for now, make sure it’s specific, actionable, focuses on the behaviour not the person, and give the person a chance to ask follow up questions.
What are the most common mistakes? 😡
Not giving regular feedback, just waiting until the 360 review
Giving regular ad-hoc feedback but not taking the time to collect feedback from peers and consolidate via a 360 review process
Only giving constructive feedback, or only giving positive feedback
Development chats, on the cadence that suits the individual
What’s the goal? 🎯
The goal of these chats are for you to partner, with your direct report, on creating a development plan that you both feel bought into. For your direct report being bought in means that they feel motivated by the goals and clear in how to reach them. For you, being bought in means that you’re confident that if they achieve the goals they’ll be more impactful in their role.
I find it really helps to have these conversations outside of the rhythm of weekly 1:1s. Weekly 1:1s are (generally) the space to go through problems that are happening right now, and solve things that need to be solved right now. Development chats are often about zooming out, and looking further ahead.
Something that’s different about this than other rituals, is that I encourage direct reports to book sessions and drive the process. I will set expectations that they have a development plan in place, but it’s up to them to make it happen. I don’t do these on a regular cadence, I think it’s important that they’re updated when needed rather than it feeling like a tick box exercise.
What does good look like? 😍
Initiate creating a plan if there isn’t one in place, or if the current one needs a refresh and set some expectations around what you’d expect to see included: e.g. if there is a consistent feedback theme
Providing a solid base of feedback (via a 360 review) to help your direct report create their plan
The plan is written by the individual, and they feel ownership of the plan. Give them freedom to create the plan in the format that works best for them.
Create time and space to give feedback on their plan, for example: helping to clarify goals.
Help them action the plan: asking how you can support, finding opportunities for them that help them progress in their development plan, asking them how progress is going and what blockers they’re finding
What are the most common mistakes? 😡
Development is only discussed in specific “development chats”
A development plan is fully created by a manager; no space for the direct report to input
A development plan is fully created by a direct report and not shared with the manager
A development plan is not referred back to; both manager and direct report should be able to say what’s on the plan otherwise it’s not helpful or being actively used
Having a strict template; let the individual choose the format that works for them
Bringing this all together
A rhythm of connection with people you manage is important. For me, good looks like:
Weekly 1:1s for everyone you manage, and let your direct report set the agenda.
Working sessions with your team where you actively work through problems together. As a benchmark they should be happening for each person you manage every ~ 2 weeks.
A quarterly 360 review, where you collect and collate high quality feedback for your direct report.
Timely and high quality feedback every week to your direct reports.
Initiate development chats and support your direct report to write their own plan, in the format that works for them. Refer to the plan regularly, update when it’s been achieved / is no longer relevant / after new 360 feedback.
This might sound like a lot of time, and it is. To do people management well you’re probably looking at a few dedicated hours per direct report, per week. If you’re managing 1-2 people that still gives you a tonne of time to do individual contributor work. But if you’re managing 4-5 people, connecting with individuals should be about 1/3 of your week.
Time spent on these activities is the highest leverage time you can have as a manager. Every hour in this way should feel like you’re 10x your impact. If it doesn’t feel that way, I’d ask for honest feedback from your team on how your time together can be more effective and productive.
People will rarely ask for these times if you don’t put them in, it feels uncomfortable for most people to request help and ask for time to just talk through challenges. So as a manager, it’s your role to initiate and stick to these rhythms. Get it right, and it will be some of the most rewarding work of your career.
Each of these areas could be a whole blog post in itself. Which of these ares would you like to read about in more detail? What questions have I left you with?
Working with me
There are two ways we can work together:
I coach founders and product leaders at early stage tech companies. I partner with you to help you become a more self-aware, confident and fulfilled leader. You can read more about how I work and get in touch here.
I run a cohort based programme for leaders in early stage companies. 📣 Our 5th cohort is open for applications 📣 Dates are Feb 15th - March 22nd, 2023. You can find out more and sign up here.