Avoid status update meetings
I've been writing recently about the value of having regular 121s. I continue to think this is the most practical, actionable step you can take to becoming a great manager.
121s help you to know the specific people who you're working with. You find out more about who they are, what they're good at, what they enjoy - all of which is vital information if you want to support them to do their best work.
They also help you find out about how people's work is going, what they're struggling with, and what they're learning about your customers. This helps you know so much more about how things are really going in your organisation - the rich reality behind your metrics.
But to get all of these benefits, you need to approach 121s in the right way.
Aim for a 121 to be like a coaching session. Avoid at all costs the trap of the status update.
The status update is the classic example of the "meeting that could have been an email". It's just a catalogue of facts - "I did this, then I did this, then I did this". A conversation is a very inefficient way to transmit this information, so it often takes a while.
Because status updates take so long, you will find yourself running out of time just as things are getting interesting.
It’s when you have the picture of your managee's work that you can start doing some real high-value coaching:
This project has been stuck in the same place for a month - what's going on?
You've been waiting for an answer from the client for a long time on this project and maybe it's time for us to escalate it on their side - what have you tried?
It seems like this project is taking a lot more work than I'd expect and it might be that you're being too diligent on something that's not very important - can you tell me more about that?
This project is very high profile and so our organisation's reputation is on the line - can you give me more of a detailed picture?
This is where you, the manager, the CEO, the senior person can get into what's important. You can use your higher level of experience, and your greater knowledge of the business reality, to guide and steer and super-charge your more junior employees by asking some pretty pointed questions1.
And this super-charging happens at two levels:
You're making clear the priorities - which means that the more important stuff gets done first
You're helping your managee learn about what is more important and why - which is a vital part of the journey to becoming a more experienced professional
So ditch the status update, and focus instead on the valuable bit of the conversation that comes after it.
Next week I’ll share more about a simple tool you can use to help you do this.2
Yes, some of the questions above are 'status update'-like. But they are targeted, they are goal-directed, and avoid the general "I'm doing this, and this, and this, and this, and this".
Spoiler, it’s what I call Project Pinboards. I wrote about them a while ago, but I think I can do a better job of explaining what they are and how best to get started with them. So that’s my assignment for next week!