How to lead a 1-1

If you’re leading a team or group as part of your role you should have regular 1-1 catchups with each member of your team.

1-1’s should be scheduled to happen weekly with each person on your team. You can stagger them so that they’re spread out through the week. A typical 1-1 should last around 30 minutes and is mostly about checking in with each person to see how they’re getting on, help them work through issues they’d like to raise, and create a space for you both to provide each other feedback.

Here are some of the questions you might ask on a 1-1:

  • How are you?
  • How well do you feel you are doing at the Human Made?
  • How well do you feel Human Made is doing?
  • What are you feeling good about at the moment?
  • What are you feeling you’d like to improve?
  • Is there anything you think I could be doing better?
  • Have you noticed or experienced anything that you think is concerning, anything you think I should be focused on?

As a fast growing company it’s likely that a few of your 1:1s will be with people who are less than a year into their time as humans. In that case leave the door open to talking about how they feel that are settling in, and comparing Human Made to previous employers.