Before my first one-on-one meeting with anyone reporting to me, I refer them to this link: https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/32765/what-is-the-purp

Before my first one-on-one meeting with anyone reporting to me, I refer them to this link: https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/32765/what-is-the-purpose-of-1-on-1-meetings-with-your-direct-leader-boss https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/32765/what-is-... I give my reports an opportunity to raise any topics they wish to discuss. Then, following the example set by a previous manager of mine, I always ask these 4 questions: - On scale of 1-5 (3 being ok, 5 being really bad), what’s your stress level? - What has been the most challenging thing since our last meeting? - What has been the most rewarding thing since our last meeting? - Are there any resources that could assist you or our team with our projects/goals? I meet every other week for a half-hour with each of my reports. I've found it invaluable and am a strong proponent. I've also had one-on-one with managers who just wanted to shoot the breeze or complain about other people we worked with. And during one really bad stretch, I had regular one-on-one's with a manager who, after putting me on a PIP, would quiz me about random details of our applications in an effort to collect evidence for HR that I was unqualified for my job. So YMMV.