What are you giving airtime?

Welcome to The Thinker, a twice-monthly newsletter where I provide thought-provoking questions to help you cultivate a fulfilling and high-performing career.

Hi there!

In the last issue of The Thinker, we talked a lot about your boss; let’s add to that by chatting about your 1-on-1s. 

Your recurring meetings with your boss are the backbone of your relationship with them. Second only to your Slack/Teams communication. 

But, so often I hear of suboptimally structured 1-1s and it just breaks my little coach heart. Meetings are too long or too short. There’s no agenda or the agenda gets thrown out the window regularly. They’re too frequent or never happen. 😭I die inside.

Let’s stop breaking my heart and fix your 1-1s. Here are 3 questions to ask yourself to maximize your time with your boss. 

1. Are your 1-1s structurally set up for success? 

→ Do they happen regularly enough?

→ Do they last long enough?

First, evaluate the format and norms of your recurring meetings with your manager. In particular, consider how frequently and how long they’re supposed to happen - and then compare that to what happens in reality.

For example, if you’re scheduled for a weekly 45-minute meeting with your manager, but they always show up late or cancel, then the current structure isn’t working. Take a step back and identify the frequency and duration you need, overlay that with what seems probable for your manager, and re-align with them on the schedule going forward.

2. Are you giving air time to the right things?

→ Does your boss know what you’re working on?

→ Are those things important?

I said something pretty slick in a coaching call the other day when I was helping a client improve her relationship with her boss: what you give airtime becomes reality. If you spend your 1-1 talking about inconsequential things, your boss will think that you only work on inconsequential things.

You have a limited amount of face time with your boss, use it wisely, and give airtime to things that are mission-critical, generally awesome, and are aligned with what they care about.

3. Are you having regular conversations about your professional growth?  

→ Does your manager know your professional goals?

→ Is there a shared plan in place to bring them to fruition?

You and your boss need to be on the same page about your professional goals. Are you trying to get promoted this cycle? Are you trying to take on more responsibilities outside of your core role? Are you trying to build a specific skill set (e.g., build better decks)?

You need to have growth goals, and your manager needs to know about them so she can help make them happen. Use at least one 1-on-1 a month to talk about your professional growth. 

Your 1-on-1s are precious. So very, very precious. Structure them intentionally and your career and your manager will thank you as a result.

Cheering for you, 

McKay