Run a 1:1 that isn't just a status update

If your one-on-ones are just verbal status reports, you're wasting the most valuable half hour you have with each person. Status belongs in a doc or a tool. The 1:1 is for the things that don't fit there: blockers, growth, friction, and how the person is actually doing.

Make it their meeting, not yours. Let them set most of the agenda, and open with a real question — "What's the most frustrating part of your week?" beats "What did you get done?" Then mostly listen. A good rule: if you're talking more than half the time, recalibrate.

Always close the loop. End with one or two clear commitments — who's doing what by when — so the conversation turns into change the person can see.