One-on-One 101: 3 Reasons Why One-on-Ones Are Important!
In my opinion, one-on-one meetings are the most important thing a leader can do with their team, but they’re often the most overlooked. Why does this happen? It’s generally due to poor prioritization. It is common to put project deadlines above people, and in the short term that may seem to make sense. In the long term, if you’re not putting your people first, it’s likely to land you and your company in hot lava.
Here’s 3 reasons why one-on-ones are important:
1. Analytics
When you’re having one-on-one meetings with your team, you’re gathering data. You may have a lot of the hard data already, but unless you’re talking to your team, I can guarantee you don’t have all the soft data you need to make good decisions. Is the timeline progressing as it should? Are there any issues with the project? How about personal matters that need to be addressed? These are all items that could potentially derail your project AND your business. But if you don’t have all the data, you won’t make informed decisions, and if you aren’t making informed decisions, you can’t be the effective leader you’re meant to be.
2. Building Trust
Teams of any kind only work well together when there is trust. In order to thrive, your team needs to know they can trust each other, and they need to know they can trust you to lead them. What’s the best way to earn trust, you ask? Having regular conversations with your team members. If you show them consistency, care, and dedication, they’ll do the same for you and your company. When you build a rapport, they feel much more comfortable bringing up a problem than if that’s the only contact they ever have with you – and you just might end up saving the day.
3. Growth
Getting to know your team members’ individual strengths, weaknesses, and long term aspirations doesn’t just help you succeed on a project-by-project basis. It also helps you grow your business and strengthen its reputation. If you’re helping each of your team members grow, that only serves you and your brand, even if they end up moving on.
Those are the 3 reasons why one-on-ones are important! Let me know what you think in the comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts.
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