Very often we hear from our coachees that they do not get enough time with their managers. A fundament of managing people is to create moments of undivided attention on a regular basis. We call them 1-2-1’s.
These meetings – live or online – are not just nice-to-have’s that are easy to plug into the calendar. And then as easily moved around or cancelled.
Direct reports are not only needing time from their manager to know what is going on at the higher management level. They sometimes need to ventilate, they need mentorship, they need coaching. Direct reports are human beings with needs, and human beings are mission critical to companies (Thank you Tom Peters).
So, our advice to everyone having people management responsibilities: Make your standing meetings with your direct reports sacred. Fix the rhythm (weekly, bi-weekly), fix the right time of the day. Get into the right mindset: Empathy, willing to make your direct report successful. All other business matters will have to go on pause during that meeting. You will be respected as a leader, you will really know what is going on, and your department will have success. It is not rocket science.