Some of my most memorable one-on-ones have been a walk to get a coffee (or let’s be honest tea). They are not planned, they are not structured and they start with a simple question – “How is it going?” or “What do you think of this?”. You don’t need to make them a complex lunch, planning session, build-up that takes 1 hour. Most times you’ll get more out of that relaxed 15 min discussion.
No really, what are your goals? What do you want to get to? What do you want to achieve? Where do you want to go? And most importantly, what matters to you most? If you’re not asking yourself those questions, you’re not any closer to reaching your goals.
New teams need trust, fast. They need that groundwork, that foundation that established teams already have. They are having to change the rocket fuel while the rocket is soaring through the sky without it falling to the ground. What they don’t know, is that the rocket can slow down, it can take a hiccup, it can hit a different switch to get them back on track, as long as everyone sees where they are going,…
Do you have one for your team? What do they need to work on? I.e., what tasks should they do first? What do they need to focus on? I.e., what needs to be done when? What do they do when they aren’t sure what to do? I.e., what can they fall back on? The playbook is what gives your team something to fall back on because that’s what it is, when all else fails, do…
It’s not what’s written down. It’s not your job description. It’s not what people think you do or what they ask you to accomplish. It’s what your team needs, that’s your role.