Use These 5 Topics to Energize One-On-Ones

Use the following topics and questions to energize one-on-ones.

One-on-ones show people they matter.

5 Topics to Energize One-on-Ones:

#1. Safety and Security:

Questions:

1. How secure do you feel in your role or within the team?
2. What aspects of working here increase your confidence?
3. What could you do to elevate your sense of safety and security?
4. What can I do to help?

2. Connection and Belonging:

Questions:

1. What helps you feel connected to people?
2. How connected do you feel to the team, to co-workers?
3. What could you do to strengthen those connections?
4. How could we create an environment where feeling connected is more likely?

#3. Achievement and Growth

Questions:

1. On a scale of 1:10 how challenged do you feel in your role?
2. What types of challenges most energize you?
3. Where would you enjoy contributing more?
4. How would you like to develop? If you grew in that way, what would be different for you?

#4. Purpose and Meaning:

Questions:

1. What are the meaningful contributions you make here? (This might feel accusatory to insecure employees. Explain the purpose of the question.)
2. How does your role give you opportunities to express your values?
3. What brings you the most fulfillment?

#5. Joy and Curiosity:

Questions:

1. What parts of your job energize you? How can we maximize them?
2. What parts of your job drain you? How can we minimize them?
3. What are you curious about as it relates to your job or working here?

Use these five themes to help employees enrich their work life. Be supportive, but remember you are not responsible for making someone feel a certain way. Your role is to create a positive environment, not to manage everyone’s feelings.

What makes one-on-ones energizing? Draining?

Still curious:

Quick Strategies to Energize One-On-Ones

A Simple Reusable One-On-One Plan

Make the Most of Your One-on-One Meetings (hbr.org)