Coaching One-on-One Template
Managers have a responsibility to reach beyond the day-to-day. Use this free coaching one-on-one agenda template to facilitate conversations with team members that encourage long-term growth.
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Managers need to know when to be hands-off and when to be involved. While managers need to trust their employees to take the ball and run with it, they also need to take an active role in guiding their employees. Coaching can help. One-on-one meetings give employees the opportunity to address any concerns as well as celebrate their victories.
But they can also be a challenge. Let’s take a look at some manager tools basics — including how to get the most out of your one-on-one coaching sessions.
One-on-One Coaching Meetings
Coaching meetings allow you to touch base with employees and keep them motivated. Your first one-on-one meeting with employee staff members will give you a baseline. What do they expect? How do they want to grow? What do they anticipate their challenges to be? How do they want to move forward?
From there, the one-on-one meeting serves as a method of checking in. Are employees still on their way to their goals? Are they struggling? Are there tools that they could be offered that would help them achieve success?
To create a one-on-one meeting, many managers will use one-on-one template manager tools or a one on one meeting invite template. Templates make it possible to structure your meetings consistently, in addition to making sure that each employee is getting individualized care. During one-on-one meetings, you should highlight the things that your employees have achieved and listen to their challenges.
Many employees are hesitant to raise issues when they are in team meetings. And they may not be able to discuss their own personal or professional goals without feeling as though they are consuming time. One-on-one coaching meetings give them the chance to express these needs to you. Employees who feel as though they’re moving toward their personal and professional goals are far more likely to stay with a company and far more likely to perform well.
Questions to Ask in a Coaching Session
What does a coaching session really entail? One-on-one meeting questions should be largely open-ended. Don’t ask employees, “Do you think your project is a success?” Rather, ask your employees what about a project that seems to have been successful. Open-ended questions will give you far more information than yes or no answers.
Some important coaching questions include:
- What’s working and what’s not? Ask follow-up questions, such as what the employee things could be improved about the process or what successes could be replicated in the future.
- What are your favorite projects? This gives indications regarding what jobs the employee finds most interesting and where they are most likely to perform well.
- What do you feel is holding you back? Often, employees won’t talk about their struggles. But they may already know exactly what they need to succeed.
- What skills are you working on? Professional development is critical; many employees are more likely to stay with a business as long as they offer professional improvement.
- What do you think is most important for your professional growth? It’s in a manager’s best interest to align an employee’s desires with the company’s desires.
These one-on-one meeting questions dig down into what your employee is thinking, what they need, and what they feel they have achieved. From there, you can tailor your management style and management strategies to what they desire.
It’s not always easy to create a coaching session from whole cloth. Many employee management and HR platforms offer meeting templates. Otherwise, attending coaching sessions and seminars can be the right way to develop your coaching path.
One-on-One Meeting Template
What is a coaching one on one template? A one-on-one meeting template is essentially an agenda. It’s an outline of what should be discussed during the meeting. Creating and adhering to a meeting template can ensure that you hit all the important topics with each employee. You can also customize an employee one-on-one meeting template as you learn more about each employee’s needs.
Online, you can find specific templates — a one-on-one meetings with direct reports template is going to differ from a printable employee one-on-on meeting template for employees who are more hierarchically distant. A good one-on-one meeting template should also be tailored to your organization and the products and services you provide.
Ideally, your meeting template should cover positive elements (celebrations), negative elements (challenges), and anything the employee wants to discuss. Embrace a one-on-one meeting as a chance to form a deeper understanding of each employee. Each employee is unique and will have different concerns. Together, they can help improve the organization.
Coaching with one-on-ones is a challenge. But it’s also an essential one. The more you connect with your employees, the more apt they will be to accept your guidance — and the more control you will have over your department and organization’s future success.