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Now onto acing your 1:1s with your manager.
You can have 1:1s with many people in your org like your Engineering manager, Sales leaders, skip the level, and such but for this week’s newsletter we share tips to maximize your 1:1 time with your reporting manager.
Have an agenda
Know that this is the most valuable time that you get with your manager and try to make the best use of it. Use it for whatever you feel needs the most attention, be it your day-to-day job, career, or personal conflicts with your colleagues. We recommend your mix and match these as you see fit
Tips to set an agenda to discuss with your manager
Project updates- Know how much info is too much info? It depends on where you are in your career, how many people report to your manager, what is the scope of your projects, and more. Try to keep it concise.
Problem resolutions - Don’t go to them just asking for help. Do your homework and lay out the options asking for their opinion.
Personal bonding- The most underrated thing that will reap asymmetrical benefits not just for your career but also getting to know your manager as a person and vice a versa
Guidance and coffee chats- Ask about your manager's career, and what would they do if they were in your shoes
Have a separate career-focused 1:1s
We recommend you generally keep a separate 30 minutes every month to discuss your career goals as it keeps the focus sharp and to the point
This will be very helpful to gauge how far you are from your next challenge and you don’t have to make that promotion conversion awkward
Get feedback whenever you can. Deekshit was hesitant to ask for feedback, mainly because he didn’t want to hear how bad he sucked. But now, he embraces asking for feedback as it helps him to improve.
Ask what your skip-level manager thinks about you. This is especially valuable for promotion conversations as a majority of the organizations get 360-degree feedback.
If you lack in an area, work with them to create a situation to work on your weak areas. For example, Andy’s manager and Andy deliberately create more opportunities for him to present in front of VPs so become better at concise communication
Listen to your manager
Use ~20% of the time to hear from them. You won’t know until you ask what is happening at the leadership level.
Your manager may also have a lot to discuss with you so make sure you give them ample time. If you are always going over, they won’t share what is on their mind
If they don’t share, be proactive and ask what is happening at the leadership level. You’d be surprised to know so many details that would have otherwise passed
Understand what your manager doesn’t like and volunteer and remove as many things as you can from their plate. Be the person who gets stuff done.
Interview your manager and learn from their career and what they would have done differently if they were in your shoes
Have unconventional 1:1s
You can do walking 1:1s, lunch 1:1s, coffee 1:1s
These are all great ways to bond with your manager and know them on an informal note
Keep the environment light and fun. Sometimes Andy just uses his 1:1 discussing movies, favorite game, or what his managers’ hobbies are
Play an online game together like tic tac toe or chess. Don’t do this too often, but maybe once in 6 months or so.
Bonus points
If your manager hasn’t set up a regular 1:1 cadence with you, ask them if you would like to set up a regular 1:1 with them and if you can schedule a meeting. Do not keep it floating, you should have it slotted on each of your calendars.
Keep your updates concise and don’t ramble. Using a template can help you be focused- Project updates, need help, share achievements, something fun!
Don’t use your 1:1 with your manager as a punching bag. Your manager is not your therapist and doesn’t want to hear all your personal problems. Know where to draw the line between bonding and venting everything out
Learn to manage your manager. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, so we recommend understanding what your manager likes and dislikes and positioning yourself appropriately can go a long way
Get lots of feedback. We assume that our manager will provide feedback if there’s any. But most of the time Managers will give you feedback if you are doing something terribly wrong
If you are new to a company, we recommend you create a “How to work with me” document so that you can share your working style and can get people up to speed on how they should collaborate with you. Here’s a template - https://grey-animal-909.notion.site/How-to-work-with-Lily-c5ad60f5b63d42f5b413acfe09b52c1c
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