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Well, let's put it like this: the wrong reason for a manager to cut a 1:1 to biweekly is because they don't have enough time in their calendar to support their

Well, let's put it like this: the wrong reason for a manager to cut a 1:1 to biweekly is because they don't have enough time in their calendar to support their directs. A better reason would be because there isn't enough time between 1:1s to fill out the weekly meetings. But the manager isn't the person who can easily make that judgement call. IMO, the correct person to judge that is the direct -- they can't just show up at their managers desk and demand a 30 minute meeting when something important shows up, whereas a manager can (and often does!)

davidw 5y ago
1 on 1's did not use to be 'a thing', and we still got plenty done in those days, which were not that long ago. Generally ideas like this seem to spread because it was part of some successful company and so it got written up and now a lot of people copy it because it's easy to copy and they think it will help make their own company successful. As a result, the thing that actually occurs in a lot of places is a manager reading from a script that they've been trained on a little bit from someone else. It does not feel useful to me.
- stormcode 5y ago
  Take it into your own hands. It's your time. Bring stuff to it. You won't always have an amazing manager, but you can get a lot out of it if you are proactive IMO. Also, I think all managers should be asking what cadence and length of time their directs want for 1:1. The least would be 30 minutes bi-weekly IMO. The most would be 1 hour weekly. Depends on the person, the projects, where they are in their career, etc.
  - davidw 5y ago
    If it were up to me, I would not bother with it. I have 20 years of experience in this field, and a vital part of the job is communicating well with other people. I do not need someone's "Management Best Practices Checklist" in order to do that. And I do not think I'm exceptional: most of us got by just fine without all this.
    - shukantpal 5y ago
      People have differing opinions on this, so maybe learn to respect that. Seems like 20 years of experience has not done that.
      - davidw 5y ago
        These things are mostly not based on opinions where teams get to pick and choose, but some kind of received wisdom that checks a box on someone's list of Best Management Practices and everyone is forced to go through the script, like it or not.
        stormcode 5y ago
        That's why I'm suggesting you take control and turn the meeting into what you want it to be. It doesn't have to be a checklist but it sounds like you -have- to have this meeting at the company you are at. So instead of suffering through it, you can turn it into something beneficial for you. Ya know?

davidw 5y ago

1 on 1's did not use to be 'a thing', and we still got plenty done in those days, which were not that long ago. Generally ideas like this seem to spread because it was part of some successful company and so it got written up and now a lot of people copy it because it's easy to copy and they think it will help make their own company successful. As a result, the thing that actually occurs in a lot of places is a manager reading from a script that they've been trained on a little bit from someone else. It does not feel useful to me.

stormcode 5y ago
Take it into your own hands. It's your time. Bring stuff to it. You won't always have an amazing manager, but you can get a lot out of it if you are proactive IMO. Also, I think all managers should be asking what cadence and length of time their directs want for 1:1. The least would be 30 minutes bi-weekly IMO. The most would be 1 hour weekly. Depends on the person, the projects, where they are in their career, etc.
- davidw 5y ago
  If it were up to me, I would not bother with it. I have 20 years of experience in this field, and a vital part of the job is communicating well with other people. I do not need someone's "Management Best Practices Checklist" in order to do that. And I do not think I'm exceptional: most of us got by just fine without all this.
  - shukantpal 5y ago
    People have differing opinions on this, so maybe learn to respect that. Seems like 20 years of experience has not done that.
    - davidw 5y ago
      These things are mostly not based on opinions where teams get to pick and choose, but some kind of received wisdom that checks a box on someone's list of Best Management Practices and everyone is forced to go through the script, like it or not.
      - stormcode 5y ago
        That's why I'm suggesting you take control and turn the meeting into what you want it to be. It doesn't have to be a checklist but it sounds like you -have- to have this meeting at the company you are at. So instead of suffering through it, you can turn it into something beneficial for you. Ya know?