lev-os 1-on-1 Frameworks
Overview
Structured frameworks for conducting productive one-on-one meetings between managers and direct reports. These frameworks provide conversation structures, agenda templates, and questioning approaches to maximize the value of regular check-ins.
Core Principles
- Employee-Driven Agenda: The direct report should drive 70-80% of the conversation
- Regular Cadence: Weekly 30-minute or biweekly 60-minute sessions
- Psychological Safety: Create space for honest, unfiltered communication
- Future-Focused: Balance backward-looking review with forward-looking development
- Documentation: Light note-taking for follow-up and accountability
Common Framework Patterns
The Three Ps Framework
Priority: What's most important right now? People: Team dynamics, relationships, collaboration challenges Progress: Movement toward goals, blockers, wins
Manager Tools Trinity
10 Minutes: What's on your mind? (Employee drives) 10 Minutes: What's on my mind? (Manager shares) 10 Minutes: Development & coaching (Future-focused)
The Career Development Model
Rotate through these topics across 4 meetings:
- Performance: Current work quality and execution
- Growth: Skills development and learning goals
- Career: Long-term trajectory and aspirations
- Relationship: Manager-employee working dynamics
The Five Questions Approach
- How are you doing? (Personal check-in)
- What's top of mind? (Current priorities)
- What blockers exist? (Problem-solving)
- What support do you need? (Enablement)
- What's energizing you? (Engagement)
Execution Steps
1. Establish Cadence and Norms
- Schedule recurring meetings (never cancel unless emergency)
- Define format preferences with direct report
- Agree on note-taking and follow-up processes
- Set expectation: employee creates agenda
2. Prepare the Meeting
- Employee: Add agenda items to shared doc 24 hours before
- Manager: Review agenda, add 1-2 items if needed
- Both: Review action items from previous meeting
3. Conduct the Session
- Start with personal check-in (5 min)
- Let employee drive agenda (20 min)
- Manager shares feedback/updates (5 min)
- Clarify action items and owners (5 min)
4. Document and Follow-Up
- Capture key decisions and action items
- Send summary within 24 hours
- Track commitments for next meeting
- Review patterns over time (quarterly)
5. Iterate and Improve
- Quarterly: Ask "How can we make these more valuable?"
- Adjust format based on employee preferences
- Vary topics to prevent staleness
- Escalate to skip-level if needed
Anti-Patterns
Status Update Factory: Using 1-on-1s only for project updates (use standups instead)
Manager Monologue: Talking for 80% of the meeting (should be 20-30% max)
Performance Review Surprise: Never canceling until annual review, then raising issues
Problem Vending Machine: Only meeting when employee has problems
Calendar Roulette: Constantly rescheduling or canceling meetings
Quality Indicators
High Signal:
- Employee arrives with prepared topics
- Difficult conversations happen naturally
- Career development emerges organically
- Relationship deepens over time
- Issues surface before they escalate
Low Signal:
- "I don't have anything to talk about" becomes common
- Meetings feel like obligation, not opportunity
- Employee waits for manager to fill silence
- No action items or follow-through
- Conversation stays surface-level
Related Frameworks
- Radical Candor: Care personally + challenge directly model
- Situational Leadership: Adjusting approach to employee readiness
- GROW Coaching: Goal, Reality, Options, Will framework
- Feedback Equation: Observation + Impact + Question structure
Scoring (40/50)
- Practitioner Weight (8/10): Field-tested by millions of managers
- Clarity (9/10): Clear structure and execution steps
- Proven ROI (8/10): Strong correlation with retention and engagement
- Novelty (5/10): Well-established management practice
- Applicability (10/10): Universal across industries and roles
Sources
- Manager Tools Podcast (frameworks and best practices)
- First Round Review: "The Power of Performance Reviews"
- Rework Blog (Basecamp): "Manager's Guide to 1-on-1s"
- Andy Grove: High Output Management (Chapter on performance management)
- Kim Scott: Radical Candor (1-on-1 conversation guidance)