Hi there,

Have you ever been to the circus or Covent Garden and seen the plate spinners?

I watched a chap get over 10 plates whizzing along on sticks, whilst chatting and telling jokes.

He spent a little time getting each plate spinning, and then would return to it and give it the softest of touches as it started to slow down or wobble.

He made it look effortless, not one plate fell.

This is what one-on-ones do for your team, you give them just enough ‘spin’ for them to whizz along and do their best work.

And yet so many managers I meet are getting them wrong.

Here’s the thing, most managers unknowingly make five common mistakes when it comes to 1:1s that turn these meetings into a chore rather than powerful leadership tools.

Done strategically, one-on-ones can help your team solve problems faster, grow professionally, and stay engaged.

One on Ones can also become a system of how you lead your team, a routine and ritual, that allows you to focus on that person for a short amount of time and enable them to do their best work.

So, what are the mistakes you need to avoid?

🚨 The 5 biggest one-on-one mistakes managers make:

❌ Turning them into status updates instead of development-focused coaching and problem solving. You need to be a guide, and unblocker and a coach.

❌ Cancelling or rescheduling too often, making them inconsistent and ineffective.

❌ Avoiding tough conversations, allowing small problems to grow into big ones.

❌ Not keeping a record of discussions, leading to forgotten agreements and misalignment, and making the performance review prep so much harder.

❌ Failing to set clear expectations, leaving team members unsure of what you want in the meeting.

The good news? These are all fixable.

And I mean easily fixable.

👉 In this week’s video, I break down each mistake and give you simple, actionable strategies to turn your one-on-ones into your most effective leadership tool.

And to make this even easier, I’m sharing my One-on-One Toolkit—completely free!

✅ A structured one-on-one meeting template

✅ 50 powerful coaching questions to spark meaningful conversations

✅ A feedback framework cheat sheet

✅ A performance review preparation guide

📥 Grab your free toolkit here.

Getting your One-on-Ones right will help you feel more in control, empower your team more, and ensure better results for both you and your team.

So, it’s well worth the investment of a little time.

Until next week,

Helen

P.S. What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to one-on-ones? Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to help!

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