Reports, skips (in both directions), and peers: I try to meet them where they are and what they care about in regular 1:1s. I try to keep tactical work to standups and regular working sessions in order to keep the 1:1 free for interpersonal, life, career, and the strategic. At a minimum, I care about what's going on in their immediate circle (friends, spouse, kids, whatever they've got going on), recent past and near term future. Whatever they feel comfortable sharing. Especially the high achievers (and my workaholic self), I have to remind to unplug from work and incorporate other things into their identity. We work to live, not live to work—but it seems we all need to be reminded of that, including routine nudges to take time off.
Early career folks usually need different kinds of interactions than those more established in their career. With college hires, I have several money and life topics and book recommendations for them (if they indicate they're open to the input), but sometimes I chat with a more senior person who needs a reminder or six on those, too. (Like me.) Many don't even know what sort of goals to set for themselves yet, so we talk about passions and interests and alignment.
Within reason, I let them indicate the cadence/rhythm/frequency they prefer. But I can't meet with my directs' reports daily or weekly, and some of my peers and upward chain (beyond my weekly with the boss) don't have time to meet with me more often than when emergencies dictate. I try to be more available than other executives I've reported to in the past. Trust is built in the repetition of tiny moments. (Yeah, I'm listening to Brené again. Why do you ask?)
Reports, skips (in both directions), and peers: I try to meet them where they are and what they care about in regular 1:1s. I try to keep tactical work to standups and regular working sessions in order to keep the 1:1 free for interpersonal, life, career, and the strategic. At a minimum, I care about what's going on in their immediate circle (friends, spouse, kids, whatever they've got going on), recent past and near term future. Whatever they feel comfortable sharing. Especially the high achievers (and my workaholic self), I have to remind to unplug from work and incorporate other things into their identity. We work to live, not live to work—but it seems we all need to be reminded of that, including routine nudges to take time off.
Early career folks usually need different kinds of interactions than those more established in their career. With college hires, I have several money and life topics and book recommendations for them (if they indicate they're open to the input), but sometimes I chat with a more senior person who needs a reminder or six on those, too. (Like me.) Many don't even know what sort of goals to set for themselves yet, so we talk about passions and interests and alignment.
Within reason, I let them indicate the cadence/rhythm/frequency they prefer. But I can't meet with my directs' reports daily or weekly, and some of my peers and upward chain (beyond my weekly with the boss) don't have time to meet with me more often than when emergencies dictate. I try to be more available than other executives I've reported to in the past. Trust is built in the repetition of tiny moments. (Yeah, I'm listening to Brené again. Why do you ask?)
I recommend using a certain set of questions to form the mental concept of the 1:1 meeting: https://www.leadinginproduct.com/p/how-encourage-team-members-to-look