mechanics of a monthly half-day observation

Good meetings with the people you lead have two objectives: (1) Help them meet their goals, and (2) Help them grow and develop as much as possible in order to do so. In many cases, as I previously suggested, the best structure for accomplishing this may be to replace weekly one-on-ones with monthly half-day observation+coaching sessions.

Here’s how you can set these up: 

1. About a week before your scheduled half-day, reach out to pick the exact right time. Two approaches: 

• A) Target something vitally important that’s currently gumming up the works. For instance, if thier relationship with someone isn’t going well, spend time observing all of the components of those interactions (meeting planning, the meeting itself, email correspondance, Slack messages, and so on). 

• B) Alternatively, should choose a half-day window that provides a fairly representative cross-section of their day-to-day job. For some people, this will mean watching them send emails. For others, it may be a lot of meetings with thier own direct reports. For some, this may be watching them write grants. Whatever! Just note that a typical place where people often need third-party input is in interpersonal, social interchanges. 

2. As you observe them “in the wild,” constantly point out the repeatable behaviors they’re doing that are leading to their success. You’ll start getting more of them (and with more intentionality). Make quick, in-the-moment fixes to actions that will reliably produce better results if they make this switch moving forward. 

3. After you’ve gathered enough data, seen them in enough situations, zoom out and identify the 2 single most important things (plus or minus one) that will radically propel their development. To ensure you’re thinking big enough, it is often helpful to artificially exaggerate things by asking yourself, “If we were to never talk again, and if I could leave them with just 1 thing that would radically transform your work, what would it be?”

4. Communicate that, identify needs, set goals for what should be (majorly!) different when you see them a full month later. 

Hopefully this results in more growth per month than four weekly meetings could accomplish. 

And there’s a meta-message here (perhaps deserving its own future post): It’s important to tight on the “what” but not (necessarily) on the “how.”

-Ben