Understand the importance of the one-on-one

- The regularly scheduled, one-on-one meeting is one of the most powerful tools that anyone can use to get more done and increase focus. In addition to contributing to stronger communication, they can help you avoid the many little, quick questions that happen throughout your day. One company I consulted found that implementing the one-on-one meeting increased productivity by 30%. Effective one-on-one meetings occur regularly at the same time and the same place, and are scheduled perpetually on your calendar.

These meetings allow managers and team members to communicate with each other, and follow up with each other, on the things unique to their working relationship. The one-on-one meeting is a place where both should feel respected and valued. And it's a place where you can ask each other questions openly. This isn't to say that you're not going to have the occasional emergency or questions that need to be dealt with outside of this meeting. But when you have a recurring schedule, you'll find that you can wait to ask those questions until the recurring meeting, freeing up time for both of you, increasing your productivity, and reducing the stress that you're experiencing in your workday.

The one-on-one meeting is not a place to deal with creating or brainstorming projects. That is usually better handled in a project meeting or in a recurring group meeting. It's also not a place for criticism or strong correction. Although occasionally, there will be feedback given and some minor correction. If there are serious issues to be discussed, they should take place outside of the regular schedule.

In general, the one-on-one meeting should be used for anyone that you deal with regularly on a daily or weekly basis.