Step 1
Purpose of a 1:1 vs standup / email / project review
Use the 1:1 for relationship, priorities, blockers, feedback, and career — topics that need privacy or nuance. Put pure status in writing. Put multi-person decisions in a project review. If the meeting is only “what did you do this week,” cancel it and fix your async.
Step 2
Cadence and length defaults
Default: 30 minutes weekly for new reporting lines; 30–45 biweekly once trust and rhythm exist. Protect the slot. Reschedule deliberately; do not “see if we need it.”
Step 3
Shared agenda template (theirs first)
Shared doc, standing sections:
1) Their items (always first)
2) Your items
3) Feedback both ways
4) Career / growth
5) Commitments (who / what / when)
If their section is empty every week, ask why — fear, nothing to say, or the meeting isn’t useful yet.
Step 4
Running order
- Priorities — what matters this week
- Blockers — what only you can unblock
- Feedback — specific, timely, two-way
- Career — even five minutes keeps it alive
- Commitments — write them down before you leave
Step 5
Anti-patterns — the refuse-list
Refuse
- Status dump — that is Slack/email
- Therapy without action — listen, then name a next step or a referral
- Eternal cancel — cancellation is a signal; treat it as one
- Laptop theater — half-present typing kills trust
Step 6
Remote / async variants
Camera on when stakes are high. Async agenda comments 24h ahead beat surprise topics. If time zones destroy weekly live, do biweekly live + short async mid-cycle notes — still protect the live slot.
Step 7
First 30 days with a new reporting line
Over-invest early: weekly, longer if needed, explicit working agreements (how they like feedback, what “urgent” means, career goals). Document commitments so the second month isn’t reinvented memory.
Done
You’re done when…
Done when
- You have a cadence
- You have a shared agenda (theirs first)
- You have a notes / commitments habit
- You have a written refuse-list of patterns you will not run