O-o-O: The Most Powerful Management Tool

The regularly scheduled one-on-one has been called the most powerful management tool we have. Yet many public sector managers are not having regular one-on-one (O-o-O) meetings with employees.

To make the O-o-O effective, it should be regularly scheduled (every other Tuesday at 9AM or every Monday at 4PM or whatever works). It should be rarely missed and its primary focus must be on the employee and their performance. Notes should be taken by both the employee and the manager. The meeting will likely last no more tha 30 minutes with 10 minutes for the employee, 10 minutes for you, and 10 minutes to focus on the employee's development.

To prepare for your next O-o-O with an employee, ask yourself a few questions:

• What positive feedback can I give the employee?
• What commitments did I make at the last O-o-O that I need to follow up on?
• What commitments did the employee make at the last O-o-O that we need to follow up on?
• What information have I received from outside sources that I need to share with the employee?
• What is currently on my plate that I can delegate to the employee that might be helpful to their development?

Some managers use a standardized form to track the outcomes of each O-o-O. The format might include notes you take from the employee's update, notes you prepare for your update to the employee, and a list of agreements or follow-up items. The fundamental goal of the O-o-O is to maintain an ongoing dialogue with each employee about:

• performance expectations
• resources the employee needs to meet the performance expectations
• feedback on the employee's progress
• development opportunities the employee is pursuing

So how are you doing? I'd love to hear how you approach the challenge of staying connected with your employees about their performance.