Be Proactive

Being proactive about setting up one-on-one meetings helps build strong relationships and avoid costly misalignments down the line.

• Default to setting them up: It’s better to create a recurring one-on-one and cancel it later than to realize too late that it was needed.
• Low time cost, high value: One-on-ones only use two people’s time, making them much less costly than poorly-run team meetings.
• Prevent bigger issues: Skipping one-on-ones can lead to being misaligned with key collaborators, which may cause serious problems later in a project.
• Sync early with core stakeholders: Especially in cross-functional teams or shared ownership scenarios, early and regular one-on-ones help prevent misunderstandings and build trust.