The power of the one-on-one: Aligning with your manager
By Mike Heslin
It’s easy to [miss out on the potential value of] 1:1 meetings between managers and their team members. You may have too many urgent tactical priorities to discuss, crowding out conversations about strategy and professional development. Or, in an effort to provide structure and consistency, you could fall into a scripted pattern that fails to penetrate to what really matters.
Luckily, there’s a simple way to add some variety to your 1:1s AND ALSO dig beyond the tactical: make your next 1:1 meeting an Alignment Check-in. This means you leave the meeting [fully understanding your manager’s goals and how you contribute to them].
If you make this a habit, say once or twice a quarter, you’ll make alignment part of the way you operate. And that matters: Companies with strong strategic alignment have 58% higher revenue and 72% higher profitability than their peers, according to research by the consulting firm LSA Global.
To help you get started, here are some questions to ask to understand your manager’s goals and objectives:
What’s your highest priority for the next year? What are your other main objectives?
Follow-up: Why is [Priority X] more important than [Priority Y]?
Follow-up: Which objectives for the company (or department) do these goals contribute to?
Follow-up: What obstacles to you expect to face in meeting [Priority Z]?
Follow-up: What metrics or key results will let us know we’ve achieved [Priority α]?
What can I do in my role to best contribute to meeting these objectives?
Follow-up: What specific outcomes can I own?
Follow-up: What are the relevant deadlines?
Follow-up: What’s the best metric to define success?
What else should I keep in mind as I develop my own objectives?