From the course: How to Have Productive One-on-One Meetings

The value of the one-on-one meeting

From the course: How to Have Productive One-on-One Meetings

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The value of the one-on-one meeting

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- A regularly scheduled one-on-one meeting is a powerful tool to get more done and increase focus. In addition to contributing to team communication, these meetings can help you avoid the many little quick questions that happen throughout your day. One-on-one meetings should occur regularly at the same time and the same place and they should be scheduled perpetually on your calendar. They can be effective both when held in person and virtually. One-on-one meetings are best when focused on the things that do not apply to the team as a group. For example, two members can discuss deliverables they're coordinating with each other and other performance issues unique to their professional partnership. In this meeting, both team members should feel respected and valued. It's a place where you can ask each other questions openly. It's also a place to bring most of the quick questions that are an all too common source of workplace interruptions. This isn't to say that you're not going to have the occasional emergency or questions that need to be addressed outside of the meeting, but where there's a recurring one on one schedule, you'll find that you can wait to ask those questions until the recurring meeting, which frees up time for both of you, reduces stress, and improves your ability to do deep, focused work. One company I consulted found that implementing consistent one-on-one meetings increased productivity by 30%. Keep in mind that the one-on-one meetings I'll be discussing in this course aren't ideal for creating or brainstorming projects. They're also not a place for criticism or strong correction. Those activities are best handled in a special meeting set aside for a specific purpose. The meetings we'll be discussing are consistent and ongoing. They play a vital role in maintaining productivity between two team members.

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