What are 1-1 meetings and how do you make them truly effective?
The essential guide to running 1-1 meetings that drive alignment, feedback, and growth.
1-1 meetings are recurring, structured conversations between a manager and their direct report, designed not for status updates, but for coaching, alignment, and growth. To make them truly effective, they must focus on revisiting personal expectations, unpacking recent feedback, and identifying clear development goals. When done consistently and thoughtfully, 1-1s become the manager’s most powerful tool for enabling performance week by week, not just reviewing it.
What are 1-1 meetings
A 1-1 meeting is a recurring, purposeful conversation between a manager and their direct report, designed to support development and keep performance on track. Rather than focusing on status updates, these meetings are a space for reflection, feedback, and forward-looking discussion. As described by First Round Review, a 1-1 is “the employee’s meeting,” centered on their goals, challenges, and growth, not just managerial check-ins.
Within a performance enablement approach, 1-1s connect the dots between expectations and real progress, helping employees stay aligned, remove obstacles, and build momentum over time.
"When done well, 1:1s are a dedicated time for both people to invest in the relationship."
Why 1-1 meetings matter for employee performance
1-1 meetings are one of the most effective tools a manager has to support and improve employee performance. They provide a dedicated space for feedback, reflection, alignment, and coaching—something that busy day-to-day work rarely makes time for. As First Round Review puts it, “when done well, 1:1s are a dedicated time for both people to invest in the relationship,” which is essential for long-term performance and growth.
Regular 1-1s are often a key practice for building high-performing teams. According to Gallup, employees who receive frequent feedback are nearly four times more likely to be engaged, and 1-1 meetings are one of the most effective ways to deliver that feedback in real time.
Great 1-1s don’t just check in on tasks. They:
- Re-align on priorities
- Uncover blockers before they escalate
- Encourage ownership through regular reflection
- Turn feedback and expectations into practical next steps
When these conversations happen consistently, not just once a quarter, they build momentum, clarity, and trust, all of which are key drivers of individual and team performance.
How employee coaching powers performance enablement
Within the performance enablement model, employee coaching is not reserved for formal reviews or high-performers only. It’s the ongoing practice of helping each person succeed based on their individual context.
Employee coaching can be defined as structured support driven by:
- Feedback: Timely input tied to those expectations
- Observations: Data, behavior patterns, and real work signals
Managers transform these into action by:
- Guiding problem-solving
- Recommending resources
- Challenging thinking
- Sparking reflection
When coaching is grounded in expectations and feedback, it becomes less about evaluation and more about enablement.
"A 1:1 is not a status meeting. It’s the employee’s meeting."
How to run 1-1 meetings that enable employee coaching
From our research, here’s how top managers make their 1-1 meetings matter.
Keep them regular—and employee-driven
Cadence matters. Whether weekly or biweekly, great 1-1s are consistent—and employee-led. Let direct reports shape the agenda, supported by structured coaching prompts. Use a shared doc or tool to track themes, feedback, and growth signals. This ensures the conversation is rooted in what matters most to them—not what you need to check off.
Anchor to expectations
1-1s should revisit personal expectations: Are goals clear? Are they still relevant? Are there gaps? When meetings connect to expectations, coaching becomes grounded and actionable.
Incorporate continuous feedback
Timely feedback—peer or project-based—should inform 1-1s. Don’t wait for reviews. Coaching grounded in real-time insight helps employees course-correct and build confidence.
Track themes over time
1-1s are not one-offs. Over time, patterns emerge. Are the same concerns coming up repeatedly? Is motivation dipping? Tracking these trends transforms 1-1s from scattered check-ins into a storyline—essential for coaching momentum.
Include growth conversations
Not every 1-1 should be tactical. Take time to zoom out: Where is this person heading? What do they want to learn? Growth-oriented 1-1s improve engagement and retention.
Address performance challenges early
1-1s are also the place for honest, hard conversations. Grounding these in expectations and feedback makes them clear, fair, and constructive.
What should a 1-1 meeting agenda look like
A great 1-1 agenda is simple and focused, covering progress on expectations, recent feedback, current challenges, and one clear goal for growth.
The agenda doesn’t need to be long or complex. What matters most is creating space to reflect, align, and coach. Here are two simple formats managers can use depending on the situation:
Option 1: Weekly 1-1 agenda (weekly, or bi-weekly)
- What’s going well?
- What’s been challenging?
- Any feedback to discuss?
- What support do you need from me?
Use this as a recurring check-in to stay aligned and unblock progress.
Option 2: Coaching-focused agenda (every month, or once a quarter)
- How are you tracking against your current goals and expectations?
- Any recent feedback, wins, or challenges?
- What’s feeling stuck or ready to grow?
- What goals & expectations should we focus on next?
Use this version to guide deeper coaching conversations around growth and development.
These can be adjusted based on team cadence, but having even a light structure helps managers be more consistent and impactful in their support.
What great employee coaching looks like in practice
Great employee coaching happens when conversations are grounded in clear expectations, recent feedback, and real work. It’s not about vague encouragement or top-down advice. It’s about helping the individual reflect, grow, and take ownership of their development with the support of their manager.
Example - coaching for growth
“Last quarter, you took ownership of our customer feedback loop. Based on peer feedback, you’ve had a big impact. What skill would you like to develop next? Let’s align a project to support that.”
Example - coaching for course correction
“I’ve noticed a couple missed handoffs recently, and feedback points to a gap in follow-up. What’s getting in the way? Let’s revisit expectations and identify what support might help.”
These are employee coaching moments: tied to work, expectations, and growth, not judgment or evaluation.
What is the impact of employee coaching and 1-1 meetings
Consistent employee coaching and effective 1-1 meetings strengthen manager-employee trust, speed up goal alignment, increase ownership of growth, and reduce surprises during reviews, forming the backbone of modern performance enablement.
- Higher trust between managers and reports
- Faster alignment on goals
- Greater ownership of growth
- Fewer surprises during reviews
In short, this is how modern companies do performance enablement.
How Taito.ai supports 1-1 meetings and employee coaching
Taito.ai is built to make 1-1 meetings and employee coaching seamless, effective, and insight-driven:
- Personalized agendas: Generated from expectations, feedback, and recent work signals
- Coaching prompts: Highlight what to address and celebrate, drawn from real data
- Coaching cadence tracking: Visibility into how often coaching conversations actually happen
- Growth signals: Surfaced trends that guide deeper discussion and reflection
Most coaching doesn’t fail because managers don’t care. It fails because they don’t have time, context, or tools. We built Taito.ai to solve that.
Explore our plans, and try Taito.ai in your team. Get started below.
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What to read next
If expectations define success, and feedback provides insight, employee coaching through regular 1-1 meetings turns that insight into momentum.
Related reading on performance enablement and feedback:
- Performance Enablement: Why Modern Teams Are Moving Past Traditional Reviews
- Setting Expectations: The First Step to Enabling Performance
- Continuous Feedback: Driving Growth in Real Time
- This post: Employee Coaching and 1-1 Meetings
- Growth discussions: Turning insight into growth
- Employee performance evaluations: from reviews to enablement
- Performance calibration: reducing bias for actionable performance insights
FAQ
1. How often should 1-1 meetings happen?
Most teams benefit from holding 1-1s weekly or biweekly. The key is consistency, as a regular cadence builds trust and momentum over time.
2. What should a 1-1 meeting focus on?
A good 1-1 covers progress on expectations, recent feedback, current blockers, and development goals. It is not a status meeting, but a coaching conversation.
3. Who should set the agenda for a 1-1?
1-1s should be employee-led, with the manager offering structure and support. This ensures the conversation reflects the employee’s priorities and growth needs.
4. How do 1-1s support performance enablement?
They create a rhythm of reflection and alignment by turning expectations and feedback into weekly progress, instead of waiting for quarterly reviews.