The 4 Types of 1:1s That Build a Feedback Culture

Make feedback a winning habit on your team.
Helping your team set up the right foundation for a strong feedback culture is key to ensuring that culture sticks around. An integral part of that foundation is setting up the right structure and cadence of feedback communication in the form of recurring 1:1 meetings. While recurring meetings usually get a bad rap (deservedly so), these 4 are worth it. Why are they worth it? Through their content and consistency, they form the foundation of a strong feedback culture. Check out the guide below to help your team set up the right meeting structure with their direct reports.

Table of
Contents

The Standard 1:1

The purpose of the standard 1:1 is to unblock, form connection, set and reset expectations and provide feedback. This type of 1:1 provides the time to form a better understanding of each other and the work, as well as creates the space to provide feedback in both directions. 

The Introspective 1:1

The purpose of the introspective 1:1 is to take a step back from the day to day work and better understand motivations. Strong feedback cultures are based on understanding and trust. Introspective 1:1s help to build that foundation so feedback cultures can thrive. 

The Career Development 1:1

The purpose of the career development 1:1 is to help direct reports drive their career growth through understanding goals and actionable steps on how to get there. Through better understanding career goals, feedback can be more impactful and relevant. 

The Performance 1:1

The purpose of performance 1:1s is to review recent past performance, provide feedback and align on future performance goals. This 1:1 provides the perfect format to focus on role-specific performance and feedback with dedicated time and attention. 

Putting it all together

These 4 types of 1:1s will ensure that your team has the necessary touch points to form a solid feedback culture. By taking the time to put these on the calendar (recurring!) and set up the templates, your team will be well on their way to forming a solid feedback foundation.