1. Minimum: 30 mins every two weeks. Try best to stick with plan, and mentally prepared for that.
    • If you can’t handle it, it is a sign the team is too big. 7 +/- 3 people seems to be the sweet spot.
  2. Don’t ask “How are things?” - you should know this through normal standups. Instead, focus on
    • Company direction
    • Career development/path of growth - and follow up before the next review cycle
    • Conflict resolution
    • Constructive feedback
  3. Spent first 10 mins to discuss company-team wise issues, to pass the context down to the team
  4. After that, Give feedback on performance and their individual goals. Your people are hungry to know how they’re doing
  5. Leave the end chunk to questions and discussions. Very likely you don’t have answers to questions on the spot - take notes and follow up later
  6. May consider walking meeting to help relaxation.
  7. Stare into people’s eye and ask “Are you bored?”.
    • Dig deep until they are able to look into your eyes too. Goal is to discover problem before they even realize it
    • “I don’t know what to do next” is a common sign of boredom
    • It’s the job of every manager to help with the flow of information up and down the organization. When people express frustration with leadership, it’s usually due to a failure in that flow.
    • stay silent for 10 seconds to see if the other side can pursue you or open up. In fact, you should try to stay silence as much as you can
    • The simple act of listening to someone bitch is often all you need to do. Let the fury pass. View it as the oppurtinity to let the other part organize their thoughts - People want to be heard
      • But do NOT join the bitching
      • Start the triage only after the steam is off

On diffcult talk

  • Positive visioning. Before the conversation, think about your ideal outcome. It’s very possible that the conversation will go much better than you initially thought.
  • Create talking points at least one night before - you want to avoid monologue. Review the points with another neutral person
  • SLOW DOWN. Disengage after one becomes defensive
  • Look at the person’s face!
  • Tell the person why you are disappointed and how you feel, but reaffirm the person they are better than this and gives actionalbe items
  • When commenting, compare with the same person’s previous product, to cushion the shocks

References