Let’s face it: the weekly 1:1 meeting often gets a bad rap. As a manager, you know they are critical for retention and performance , but when you’re swamped, it’s incredibly easy for these touchpoints to devolve into the “Status Update Trap”.
You sit down, ask, “What are you working on?” and run through a checklist. While necessary, status updates are low-value uses of time. They don’t build trust, foster growth, or uncover hidden issues like burnout.
The problem isn’t the 1:1 itself; it’s trying to cover everything—career growth, immediate fires, feedback, and mental health—in a single 30-minute session.
The Solution: The 4 Cs Framework
Instead of trying to do everything every week, give each meeting a specific theme using the 4 Cs: Clarity, Coaching, Care, and Celebration. By rotating your focus, you ensure that over the course of a month, you aren’t just managing tasks—you are actively leading your team.
Here is a monthly 1:1 agenda you can start using next week.
Week 1: CLARITY (Alignment)
Start the month by ensuring you are both looking at the same roadmap. Prioritising is hard; don’t assume your direct reports instinctively know where the focus should lie.
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The Focus: De-prioritisation and goal alignment.
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Key Question: “Looking at our quarterly goals, what is the single most important thing for you to do this month? What can we push to the back burner to make that happen?”
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Actionable Steps:
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Map goals to the calendar: Pull up the schedule for the next 4 weeks and ask, “Given your current meeting load, do you actually have the blocked time to achieve this?”
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Check Small Improvements: Pull up your Small Improvements Objectives dashboard to check progress on quarterly objectives. Are you behind? Ahead?
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Define “Done”: Avoid ambiguity. Agree on what success looks like (e.g., “Are we aiming for a rough draft or a final client-ready deck?”).
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Week 2: COACHING (Performance)
Week 2 shifts gears from what they are doing to how they are doing it. This is the time for specific, actionable coaching on recent work. Don’t save this feedback for the annual review—give it now to allow for constant iteration.
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The Focus: Caring Personally while Challenging Directly (Radical Candor).
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Key Question: “Let’s look at the [Project X] deliverable from yesterday. To help you grow, I want to be honest about what landed well and where I think you missed the mark. Can I share my view?”
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Actionable Step:
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Log it in Small Improvements: Ensure you log key takeaways in your shared 1:1 Meeting Notes. Future-you will thank present-you when performance review season rolls around!
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Week 3: CARE (Wellbeing)
By Week 3, you’ve covered tasks and performance. Now, step back and focus on the person behind the work. If you skip this week, you risk missing early warning signs of burnout or disengagement.
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The Focus: Empathy, listening, and the big picture.
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Key Question: “Step back from the daily grind for a minute. How are you feeling generally about your workload and work-life balance right now?”
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Actionable Steps:
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Put away the to-do list: Listen more than you talk. Discuss long-term career aspirations or immediate stressors.
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Take Private Notes: Use the Private Note feature in your 1:1 tool to jot down important details regarding career desires or personal challenges to follow up on later.
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Week 4: CELEBRATION (Recognition)
End the month on a high note. This week is about clearing the decks for the next month and appreciating individual effort. Recognition is a top driver of retention.
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The Focus: Appreciation and personal momentum.
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Key Question: “Looking back at this month, what’s one win—no matter how small—that you are particularly proud of?”
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Actionable Steps:
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Identify roadblocks: Ask what specific obstacles frustrated them personally this month, and commit to removing those hurdles for next month.
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Don’t Keep Praise Private: If they did something great, use the Small Improvements “Praise” feature to send a public shout-out, ensuring their hard work is visible to the rest of the company.
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Consistency beats Intensity
You don’t have to follow the 4 Cs rigidly. If there is a crisis in Week 3, talk about the crisis, not mental health. But having this rhythm as your default setting ensures that nothing important falls through the cracks.
Start with Clarity next Monday!
