Check-in or one-on-one meetings with your manager is one of the most important meetings on your calendar if not the most important. Even though the one-on-one meeting with your manager should be candid with weekly or biweekly check-ins of the things on top of each other's mind, a lot of people that I have spoken to have trouble driving this meeting with their managers. However, check-in meetings with your manager are your time with your manager to communicate about various things important to you and you should leverage this time to learn how you could be driving more impact from your work and be well-recognized for the work you deliver.
Many times people think that check-in meetings are meant for reporting status updates on the projects to their manager. Weekly or biweekly check-in meetings with your manager should have more scope than just reporting the status of projects as there are various other meetings like scrums where the status of projects that you are working on could be reported to your manager. So what should you be talking to your manager in your one-on-one meetings? Let's look at some topics around which you could structure your one-on-one meeting with your manager. You may use all the topics below to drive your meeting or choose a few once every check-in with your manager.
Prioritize to unblock yourself
Since the check-in meeting with your manager is your exclusive time with him/her, you are not inhibited by the presence of a larger audience as in the case of larger meetings. Hence, you have the luxury to utilize this time to learn about something that you are interested in, getting help on some complex task or finding the contacts within the team or outside the team that will help you make progress on your task. Your manager's main job is to enable you to do your work to the best of your ability. So seek help from him/her in this time that he/she has reserved for you.
Talk about growth plan
The check-in meetings should be leveraged to come up with a plan for your career growth within your manager's team. As an employee, it is important to understand that your career growth is solely your responsibility and not the company that you work at or not even your manager for whom you work. So it is important to raise questions about your career growth and come up with a plan with a reasonable timeline.
Get feedback
I find that check-in meetings with managers are the best way of learning how you could have reacted or managed a difficult situation at your work differently. Asking for feedback is a great way of steering the conversation towards your professional growth. Also, being proactive in seeking feedback and discussing the measures that could be put in place to address the feedback could make a lot of difference in the eventual performance evaluation.
Communicate personal well-being
You must communicate your well-being or events in your personal life that could impact your day-to-day job duties. Most managers are empathetic and accommodate employees' situations. Communicating your well-being or personal situation to the manager allows him/her to rebalance your work if needed.
Talk about anything that bothers you
You should bring forward any issues that you face from another member of your manager's team or from a member of any partner team that you find difficult to navigate around in your check-in meeting with your manager. The ensuing discussions with your manager around these issues will bring clarity in understanding the mindset or culture within his/her team or how to effectively coordinate with the partner teams. Moreover, discussing some onerous issues that might be bothering you and affecting your work with your manager helps relieve the related stress and equips you to handle the situation better.