Advice / Succeeding at Work / Productivity

Is It Time to Drop One-on-One Meetings From Your Calendar?

One-on-one meetings—they’re so ingrained in our work culture that we rarely stop to think, “Do we actually need one?” But maybe we should.

Recently, Jensen Huang, the CEO of tech leader Nvidia, revealed that he doesn’t hold one-on-ones with his direct reports. (The exception to this rule, he was quick to note, is when his employees ask to meet. “Unless they need me,” he said during a talk in March at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. “Then I’ll drop everything for them.”)

Of course, it’s easy to imagine the head of a company removing this responsibility from their to-do list. They tend to manage a lot of people—Huang oversees 55—and there’s only so many hours in the day. It’s also more common for executives to delegate or remove themselves from everyday decision-making.

But for everyone else, it does beg the question: Are one-on-ones worth the effort? And if not, what alternatives could you adopt to ensure you stay engaged with their team?

Below, we’ll outline several scenarios where you should drop (or more likely, change) your one-on-one meetings—and the situations in which you should keep them on the calendar.

Why you should drop one-on-ones

Experts are hesitant to say you should never have one-on-ones with your employees. “Different companies have different structures, but I would be hard pressed to find a human being that says they have not benefited by one-on-one meetings—effective one-on-one meetings,” says Wendra Johnson, a Muse career coach and the VP of HR technology at employee benefits provider Unum.

“Effective” is the key word here: An unproductive meeting isn’t just a time suck—it’s a relationship hazard and morale killer, and you’re better off not having one at all. “There’s nothing more maddening than walking out of there and saying, ‘I could have used that 30 minutes to do X back at my desk,’” says leadership coach Loren Margolis.

How do you know when something’s off? Here are some signs and reasons you need to rethink your approach, or get rid of your one-on-ones altogether:

You never have an agenda: A lack of conversation topics can lead to rambling or revisiting the same problems without reaching a solution.
You’re “checking boxes:” If the only reason you have the meeting is to say you did it, you’re missing the point—and what you do discuss could have likely been an email.
You’re too far removed from the person: Many senior leaders find that if they regularly meet with employees they don’t work closely with, they can come across as micromanaging or misunderstanding their role.
Your relationship is rocky: One-on-ones won’t go anywhere if you and your report don’t get along. And “it may require involvement of a third party to just help rebuild some of that trust,” Johnson says.
You already check in a lot: Teams who live on their phones or in Slack, or work in open offices where communication is constant, may feel that one-on-ones are redundant or pointless.
You’re inundated with meetings: If you spend all day in meetings, adding or keeping a regular one-on-one will only tire you out, leaving you detached and ultimately turning the conversation sour.

In general, says Margolis, “When either side sees it as a waste of time, that’s your ‘check engine’ light going off” to make a change.

Why you should keep one-on-ones

When done well and with good intentions, regular one-on-one meetings offer plenty of upsides.

For employees, one-on-ones can provide:

Clearer guidance on confusing, new, or complicated tasks
Answers and clarity on team goals and organizational shifts
Support around political or sensitive topics
Updates on and transparency into your performance
Opportunities to humble brag or highlight achievements

“The most important reason to have these is to connect and build a relationship with your manager,” Margolis says.

Leaders, too, can reap benefits from these intimate conversations.

They can collect data, good or bad, for performance reviews.
They can track progress on tasks they don’t have a clear window into.
They can serve as a mentor or advocate for more junior employees.
They can retain top talent long term by making them feel appreciated and listened to.

For everyone, one-on-one meetings keep relevant skills sharp. “Effective communication actually becomes a basic skill set that we kind of forget about,” Johnson says.

Make the most of your one-on-ones

While it can be hard to replicate all the perks of a one-on-one elsewhere, experts say, there are things you can try to make your meetings as productive as possible—or keep tabs on staff without using the traditional format.

Change the structure or the frequency

Before you outright ban one-on-one meetings, consider altering how you run them, and how long and often they take place. Maybe you save everyday questions for an email thread and only brainstorm new project ideas or chat about long-term career goals in person. “Use the opportunity to expand the one-on-ones beyond the task,” Margolis says.

Or maybe you shift to meeting once a month or set a hard line at 15 minutes to free up your calendars and give yourselves more time to prepare. “If you could only have one really effective one-on-one per month versus having a quick check-the-box weekly, I go towards the once-a-month effective one,” Johnson says.

Make the employee the owner

When the employee decides the frequency, format, and goals of the meeting rather than the boss, “it’s very empowering for the individual,” Johnson says, adding, “it builds accountability and requires their engagement.”

Just remember that your role is still to show up and be attentive. “If you do have to move it because there’s something urgent, make sure that you reschedule it as soon as you can,” Margolis says.

And take the first step in the process: “Ask your employee what they need as the manager; literally say, ‘What is the best use of our time? Is it one-on-ones? Is it talking over lunch?’” she says.

“It’s not about what you can get out of it—it’s what you’re giving back to that employee and their development and their confidence in the role, which ultimately will benefit the organization and the team that individual is on,” Johnson says.

Find the right balance

“In cultures where psychological safety is low or lower, one-on-ones are a key forum for candid, private conversations, so managers do need to have a balance,” Margolis says. “They need to balance the need for efficiency with the need to create a supportive and inclusive workplace, because we’ve all been in team meetings where you don’t want to bring something up in front of the team.”

“It’s akin to dating,” she says. “You can’t really build a strong relationship with another person if all you do 100% of the time is hang out in a group or go to parties.”

For more great advice, check out these Muse articles on running effective meetings:

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