Why I don’t believe in 1:1s

1:1s are core to corporate culture. They’re endemic to tech companies. We think about them and talk about them all the time, and it’s assumed that every manager’s calendar is littered with 1:1s.

I think they’re a bad construct, based on a handful of faulty assumptions:

• Problem-solving and career coaching should coexist in the same meeting
• You should pre-schedule your calendar to give every team-member equal time
• Feedback should happen behind closed doors, rather than in group settings
• It’s fine to park topics and delay work “until our 1:1”

Those assumptions cause a number of issues, including:

• A default private culture (where feedback and context stay siloed)
• Project discussions with only some of the right audience
• Misallocated time – too little spent on high priority issues and projects, too much spent on things that are already on the right course
• A bias to “wait for the meeting”
• Calendar drain (a manager with 10 reports spends 250 hours/year in 1:1s)

What I’ve found works better:

• Async → quick huddle → meeting. Have the team over-communicate and be responsive to them. Hop on 5 minute calls to resolve things that are more complicated than a slack thread. Set up meetings when there’s a real need.
• Project check-ins (when scope demands) with all the key folks in the room
• Dedicated time for career chats and performance convos – people love knowing where they stand vs expectations and how to progress their career