Coaching practices for How Can I Give Feedback About Unproductive One on Ones with My Manager
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For How Can I Give Feedback About Unproductive One on Ones with My Manager, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- Feedback in my one-on-ones only ever flows one way
- My one-on-ones have quietly turned into me running down my own list of updates and asks, and the person barely gets to say what’s actually on their mind
- I walk in with my list of things to check on and immediately steer the whole hour into my project review
- Every single one-on-one we only ever talk about this week’s deliverables, and we never once zoom out to where they’re headed
- My check-ins with people are rare and long, and by the time we sit down so much has piled up that the meeting feels heavy and high-stakes
Practices that may help
- Make feedback flow in both directions
Give timely, specific feedback — and ask for it on your own management.
Effective One-on-Ones, Made Practical - Effective One-on-Ones, Made Practical
An effective one-on-one is a recurring, protected meeting that belongs to your report: they own the agenda, and your job is to listen, unblock, and support their growth — not to run a status update. The relational mechanisms (regular contact, voice, support) are well grounded; the specific cadence and format are practitioner craft built on top of them. - Make one-on-ones genuinely theirs, not yours
One-on-ones that serve the manager’s agenda demonstrate the opposite of caring personally.
Caring Personally: The Foundation of Radical Candor - Let the report own the agenda
It’s their meeting — they bring what matters to them, and you adapt to it.
Effective One-on-Ones, Made Practical - Spend real time on growth, not just tasks
Regularly leave the weeds and talk about career, skills, and where they’re headed.
Effective One-on-Ones, Made Practical - Use brief, frequent touch-points rather than long, rare meetings
Frequent short feedback loops beat rare long reviews because the gap between behavior and feedback is what determines whether feedback changes anything.
The One Minute Manager: Three Practices That Still Work - Invite a response after delivering SBI
Close SBI by asking what the other person makes of it — not with a verdict.
The SBI Feedback Model, Made Practical - Give feedback in the moment, not stockpiled for reviews
Feedback accumulated for a periodic review arrives late and in bulk — neither helps.
The Feedback Sandwich: Why It Doesn’t Work and What to Do Instead - Make it recurring and genuinely protected
A standing slot you almost never cancel beats a longer meeting held only when there’s a "reason."
Effective One-on-Ones, Made Practical - Listen far more than you talk
Aim to talk a fraction of the time; your silence is what makes space for the real issues.
Effective One-on-Ones, Made Practical
Related concerns
- Effective One On One Meetings
An effective one-on-one is a recurring, protected meeting that belongs to your report: they own the agenda, and your job is to listen, unblock, and support their growth — not to run a status update. The relational mechanisms (regular contact, voice, support) are well grounded; the specific cadence and format are practitioner craft built on top of them.
- Effective One On Ones At Work
An effective one-on-one is a recurring, protected meeting that belongs to your report: they own the agenda, and your job is to listen, unblock, and support their growth — not to run a status update. The relational mechanisms (regular contact, voice, support) are well grounded; the specific cadence and format are practitioner craft built on top of them.
- Effective One On Ones When Burned Out
An effective one-on-one is a recurring, protected meeting that belongs to your report: they own the agenda, and your job is to listen, unblock, and support their growth — not to run a status update. The relational mechanisms (regular contact, voice, support) are well grounded; the specific cadence and format are practitioner craft built on top of them.
- Employee Centered One On One
An effective one-on-one is a recurring, protected meeting that belongs to your report: they own the agenda, and your job is to listen, unblock, and support their growth — not to run a status update. The relational mechanisms (regular contact, voice, support) are well grounded; the specific cadence and format are practitioner craft built on top of them.
- How Often One On Ones
An effective one-on-one is a recurring, protected meeting that belongs to your report: they own the agenda, and your job is to listen, unblock, and support their growth — not to run a status update. The relational mechanisms (regular contact, voice, support) are well grounded; the specific cadence and format are practitioner craft built on top of them.
- My Manager Wants Regular One On One Meetings Is This Bad
One-on-ones that serve the manager’s agenda demonstrate the opposite of caring personally.
Make one-on-ones genuinely theirs, not yours
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.