Original article
Develop a trusting relationship, celebrate wins, and resolve issues early on. • How are you doing? How did the past week/month go? • What would you like to talk about today? • What are you proud of? Anything blocking you? • Do you need any support? How can I help you? • Anything else you’d like to talk about today?
Lay the groundwork for a trusting relationship and worthwhile 1:1s. • Tell me about yourself – what attracted you to this role? • What are your aspirations – professionally and personally? • What gives you energy, and what drains it? • What’s your role and what do you expect from me? • Let’s talk about our team and how we work together. • Let’s talk about why and how we’ll do 1:1 meetings. • Anything else you’d like to talk about today?
Bridge the gap between hierarchy levels and get more insights into your organization. • What are you proud of? • What ideas do you have for your team and the company? • How do you feel about the vision and priorities of our company? • What can your manager do better to support you in your role? • Is anything blocking you?
Make objective setting an informed and collaborative exercise. • Let’s quickly recap why and how we set objectives. • How did previous objectives go? • Let’s look at the company and team priorities. • Let’s discuss current objectives and personal development goals. • Let’s agree on next steps.
Help individuals reflect and identify growth areas. • Based on the feedback you received lately, are there areas you would like to develop further? • What next steps could you be taking towards those goals? • What part of your job are you enjoying the most? What’s inspiring, motivating, and energizing? • What part of your job are you enjoying the least? What is frustrating or boring you? What is the one task you would love to stop doing if it was possible? • Where do you see yourself in 2 years?
Bring a performance review to a good conclusion and share learnings. • How do you feel after this performance review? • What did you think while reading my feedback and the feedback you got from your peers? • Is there anything you need clarification about? • Was anything surprising? • What’s your main takeaway from this review? • Any feedback regarding the way I communicated my feedback?
Understand and overcome performance issues. • Are you clear on what is expected of you? Do you think those expectations are realistic? • Do you realize how your role fits into the bigger picture/why your work is important? • Do you receive enough feedback? If not, why do you think you don’t receive it? How could we ensure you get more feedback? • Do you feel comfortable asking for support when needed? • What got in the way of you having more impact? (e.g. internal processes, time management issues, lack of resources or information) • What are action items and/or objectives we can agree on?