Having The Meeting

In this lesson, we walk through exactly how to run a high-impact 1:1 with our EM by using the time intentionally to build trust, surface wins, work through challenges, and create momentum through clear action items.

• We start each meeting with 2–5 minutes of personal check-in to strengthen rapport, since life and work affect each other deeply.
• We share weekly wins to stay visible and ensure our contributions are recognized—while also making future performance review writing much easier.
• We move through our pre-seeded agenda topics (e.g., promotion planning, feedback digestion, team conflicts), which flow smoothly because we prepared them ahead of time.
• We close with clear action items for both sides—then begin the next week’s 1:1 by reviewing whether the previous actions were completed.
• We reinforce that framing wins with a “so what?” (impact or next step) and writing notes live during the meeting both strengthen trust and make the manager feel valued.