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At the risk of sounding cliche, I think the pattern of frequent 1:1s is a technique for managing people instead of leading them. I've experienced this in both

At the risk of sounding cliche, I think the pattern of frequent 1:1s is a technique for managing people instead of leading them. I've experienced this in both roles, and honestly, engineers, no matter how junior, should be able to get by a few weeks without constant management intervention. Maybe weekly 1:1 are so common because there's a glut of nontechnical managers who don't know what else to do with their time? That's not the situation Ben Kuhn describes, but I don't know.

nicoburns 5y ago
Well yes, it’s a management technique, not a leadership technique. It’s about making sure that someone’s happy with how things are going, talking about the things that don’t get talked about day to day, but should be dealt with more frequently than every 6 months at a performance review. We don’t do them weekly, but they’re definitely valuable.
mindwok 5y ago
I’ll offer my own anecdote, which was 1 on 1s with a manager who was really just soliciting feedback about the team, how I was going, what I thought we could do better. Now I don’t have them due to a new job, I miss them dearly.
ianbicking 5y ago
"Should be able to" is doing a lot of work there. Are people able to do this? What supporting structures make that possible? Are you sure all those structures are in place and applicable to a certain person's work? A 1:1 would be a good time to find out if not... Also while any particular 1:1 might be unnecessary, the 1:1s that catch things that might be going bad are IMHO much more important than the ones that aren't strictly necessary. A slow cadence can let problems fester for weeks.
Msw242 5y ago
Weekly 1:1s help me catch personnel issues that, left unattended, would lead to disaffection and attrition. 1:1 is about helping direct reports reach their professional goals when times are good (it's a great time to literally ask what they want), and provide an emotional outlet when things are bad. It helps me find assholes in my organization who need to be fired to maintain the company's health.
- twobitshifter 5y ago
  If you’re actually firing problematic people then bravo. I’ve seen managers treat 1:1 as a venting tool and never act to actually change the problem. In those cases the 1:1 is actually fuel to the fire.
  - Msw242 5y ago
    Badly trained managers, or people who shouldn't be managers, can fuck up literally any system. They're always building better idiots.

nicoburns 5y ago

Well yes, it’s a management technique, not a leadership technique. It’s about making sure that someone’s happy with how things are going, talking about the things that don’t get talked about day to day, but should be dealt with more frequently than every 6 months at a performance review. We don’t do them weekly, but they’re definitely valuable.

mindwok 5y ago

I’ll offer my own anecdote, which was 1 on 1s with a manager who was really just soliciting feedback about the team, how I was going, what I thought we could do better. Now I don’t have them due to a new job, I miss them dearly.

ianbicking 5y ago

"Should be able to" is doing a lot of work there. Are people able to do this? What supporting structures make that possible? Are you sure all those structures are in place and applicable to a certain person's work? A 1:1 would be a good time to find out if not... Also while any particular 1:1 might be unnecessary, the 1:1s that catch things that might be going bad are IMHO much more important than the ones that aren't strictly necessary. A slow cadence can let problems fester for weeks.

Msw242 5y ago

Weekly 1:1s help me catch personnel issues that, left unattended, would lead to disaffection and attrition. 1:1 is about helping direct reports reach their professional goals when times are good (it's a great time to literally ask what they want), and provide an emotional outlet when things are bad. It helps me find assholes in my organization who need to be fired to maintain the company's health.

twobitshifter 5y ago
If you’re actually firing problematic people then bravo. I’ve seen managers treat 1:1 as a venting tool and never act to actually change the problem. In those cases the 1:1 is actually fuel to the fire.
- Msw242 5y ago
  Badly trained managers, or people who shouldn't be managers, can fuck up literally any system. They're always building better idiots.