A one-on-one is a regular, private conversation between a manager and one person on their team. Done well, it is the most useful half hour in your week. It is where you hear about problems early, give feedback while it still matters, and help people grow. Done badly, it turns into a status report that nobody looks forward to.
This guide gives you a simple structure for one-on-ones, an agenda you can copy, questions to ask, the mistakes to avoid, and a way to keep notes and action items from getting lost between meetings.
What a one-on-one is for (and what it is not for)
A one-on-one belongs to the team member. Its job is to support them: remove blockers, coach, give and receive feedback, and talk about where they want to go. It is also how trust builds between you, one conversation at a time.
It is not the place to collect project status. If most of your one-on-ones sound like "Where are we on X?", move that to a short team check-in or an async update where everyone shares their priorities and blockers. The whole team then sees progress at once, and your one-on-ones are free for the conversations that only happen in private.
A quick test
If you could replace the meeting with a status update and lose nothing, it was not a real one-on-one. Cancel the status part, not the meeting.
How to prepare for a one-on-one
Good one-on-ones look relaxed, but they take a few minutes of preparation from both sides.
- Set expectations in the invite. Say what the time is for: their topics first, then feedback, growth and anything that is getting in the way. People bring better topics when they know what is welcome.
- Ask them to own the agenda. Invite them to add topics before the meeting: a conflict, a career question, an idea, a worry. Your topics come second.
- Have a backup plan. Some people start talking right away. Others default to project updates, and some stay quiet. Prepare two or three questions or one topic, such as a skill they said they want to build, so the time is never wasted. If you do not get to your topics, keep them for next time.
- Review last time's notes. Look at what you agreed and whether it happened, especially anything you promised to do.
- Protect the space. Pick a quiet room or a video call with no distractions, and keep what you hear confidential unless there is a real reason not to. People only share what they trust you to handle with care.
A simple one-on-one meeting agenda
You do not need a long template. Five short parts cover almost every one-on-one. Keep the order the same each time so the person knows what to expect, and spend most of the time wherever the conversation needs it.
- Check-in and wins. Start with how they are doing, then what went well since you last met. It sets a positive tone and gives you a chance to recognise good work.
- Blockers and concerns. What is slowing them down or worrying them? This is where you hear about problems while they are still small.
- Priorities. What matters most until the next one-on-one? Check that their priorities match yours and the team's, and adjust if they do not.
- Growth and feedback. One skill, one goal or one piece of feedback in each direction. Ask what you could do better as their manager, too.
- Actions. Agree on next steps, who owns each one and by when. Read them back before you finish.
Copy this 1:1 template
Paste this into your notes, shared document or meeting invite and reuse it every time.
| Section | Prompt | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Check-in and wins | How are you doing? What went well since we last met? | 5 min |
| Blockers | What is getting in your way? What can I unblock? | 5–10 min |
| Priorities | What are your top priorities until next time? Anything to drop? | 5 min |
| Growth and feedback | What do you want to get better at? Feedback for each other. | 5–10 min |
| Actions | What did we agree? Who does what, by when? | 2–3 min |
For a ready-made version, start from the 1-on-1 meeting notes template in the Nova process library.
Questions to ask in your one-on-ones
Pick three or four per meeting, not all of them. Open questions work best, and silence is fine: give people time to think.
Well-being and relationship
- How are you feeling about work lately?
- Is anything on your mind that you want to talk about?
- How is your workload? Is it sustainable?
Progress and blockers
- What are you most proud of since we last spoke?
- What is the hardest part of your work right now?
- Do you have the information, tools and training you need?
Growth and goals
- What skill would you like to build in the next few months?
- Does your current work move you toward where you want to be?
- What new thing have you learned recently?
Feedback for you
- What could I do differently to support you better?
- Is there anything about how the team works that you would change?
How to give feedback in a one-on-one
Feedback works best when it is timely, specific and about behaviour, not personality. A simple structure helps: describe the situation, the behaviour you saw and the impact it had. That is the SBI feedback model. If you want a lens for being direct while still showing you care, try the Radical Candor feedback template.
Before you give feedback, ask for their view first: "How do you think that went?" People often name the issue themselves, which makes the rest of the conversation easier. And make it clear that mistakes are normal. What matters is what you both learn from them.
Feedback notes, not just incident reports
Many managers only write things down when something goes wrong. An incident report has its place: when there is a policy issue or a serious performance problem, you need a factual record of what happened, what was expected, and when you talked about it.
But if you only document problems, your records show a distorted picture. A better habit is to keep running feedback notes for each person, where you write down both the moments they exceeded expectations and the things that need attention. Treat good work with the same urgency as problems: note it, and tell the person soon. When review time comes, you have a fair, balanced history instead of a memory of the last two weeks. The feedback notes for employees template gives you a ready structure.
Whichever you keep, stick to facts and behaviour, write the date, and note when you shared the feedback with the person.
Common one-on-one mistakes
- Turning it into a status meeting. If you spend the time on project updates, there is no room for anything else. Move status to a team check-in.
- Cancelling when you get busy. Each cancellation tells the person they are not a priority. Reschedule instead, and keep the meeting even when "there is nothing to discuss". Those are often the most useful ones.
- Talking more than listening. Aim for the team member to do most of the talking. Ask, then wait.
- No notes, no follow-up. If nobody writes down what you agreed, the same blockers come back every week. Keep notes in one place and start each meeting with last time's actions.
- Saving feedback for performance reviews. Feedback that arrives months late is hard to act on. Give it in the next one-on-one.
- Using the same script for everyone. Keep the structure, but adapt to the person. A new hire needs more context; a senior person may want more coaching on strategy.
How to run one-on-ones in Nova
In Nova, a meeting is a session: a series of steps, where each step asks for a specific kind of input. A one-on-one fits this well. Each part of your agenda becomes a step, and the notes, decisions and actions stay attached to the meeting.
Goals and instructions
Visible to allDavid's time. Add your topics to any step before we meet.
Leadership Notes
Leaders onlyAsk about the presentation skills goal. Thank him for covering support last week.
Here is how to set it up:
- Keep it private. Open the Leadership hub from the left menu and choose the 1:1s & Coaching tab. Sessions there are private to you until you invite someone, and the person you invite sees only that session.
- Start from a template. Add a session from the process library, such as the 1-on-1 meeting notes template, or build the five steps yourself. You can also ask Nova AI to draft the steps from a prompt.
- Choose step types. Use an individual note for wins and priorities, comments for a back-and-forth on blockers, and a tasks step for actions, so every action has an owner and a due date.
- Assign steps. Make the team member the owner of the steps they fill in before the meeting. That puts their topics first.
- Keep your own notes private. Use Leadership Notes, or set a step to Leader only step, for prep questions and observations that are just for you.
- Close with a conclusion. Write a short conclusion, or let Nova AI draft one from the session's notes, and choose whether to share it with both of you or keep it for leaders only.
Make the 1:1 recurring
One-on-ones only work when they happen on a rhythm. Choose Make recurring on the session and set how often it repeats. The current session becomes the template for future ones, so each meeting starts with the same steps. Recurring sessions need Nova Pro. To see all your rituals in one place, open the project's Rituals tab, where you can edit or stop a recurrence. Learn more in Connect sessions into a workflow.
Keep actions and feedback in view
Tasks you agree on in the actions step land on each person's Tasks page and Calendar, alongside the rest of their work. If you connect your calendar, your sessions and tasks also show up in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. For feedback, keep a separate private session for each person based on the feedback notes template, and add a note whenever something worth recording happens, good or bad.
If you want the bigger picture, the Leadership OS playbook shows how one-on-ones fit with team check-ins, reviews and planning in a single operating rhythm.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you have one-on-ones?
Weekly or every two weeks works for most teams. Meet weekly with new hires, people going through a big change, and anyone who needs more support. With experienced people who work very independently, every two weeks is often enough. Whatever you choose, keep it regular and avoid cancelling.
How long should a one-on-one meeting be?
Thirty minutes is a good default. Weekly meetings can be shorter; meetings every two weeks may need closer to an hour. If you often run out of time, add time. If you often finish early, the agenda may need more growth and feedback topics.
Who should set the one-on-one agenda?
The team member should own most of it. Ask them to add their topics before the meeting, and keep a few of your own as backup. A shared agenda that both of you can edit makes this easy.
What should you not discuss in a one-on-one?
Avoid spending the time on routine project status, which belongs in a team check-in. Do not talk about other team members' performance, and do not save serious issues, such as harassment or policy breaches, for the next one-on-one. Raise those right away and involve HR.
Should you take notes during a one-on-one?
Yes, but keep them short: key points, decisions and actions with owners. Shared notes help both of you remember what you agreed. Keep your own private observations separate.