It’s been a while since I last posted in our video series, so I’m back today with another video tip on what you can do, as a leader, to encourage more compassion at work. This time, the strategy is to schedule regular one-on-ones with your staff.
Schedule regular one-on-ones with your staff to demonstrate compassion at work
If you’re trying to encourage more compassion at work, then you need to start by showing you care. Not just about your people as individuals (see Strategy #3 – get to know your staff better), but also about them in their jobs and what they are expected to accomplish. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate that you support your employees is to schedule regular one-on-one meetings with them. By “regular”, I mean weekly, every two weeks, or at minimum, once a month.
This six-point agenda covers all bases
What are you going to discuss in these meetings? I recommend an established consistent agenda that is the same from meeting to meeting. Here is the six-point agenda I recommend to leaders in my client organizations. Feel free to use this, or adapt it for your specific needs.
- Ask your employee to share one positive highlight or accomplishment since the last meeting.
- Get your employee to recap their progress on actions items that came out of the last meeting.
- Engage in a discussion of current problems and issues.
- Discuss any issues or commitments that are looming on the horizon.
- Ask your employees for specific areas in which you can support or assist them.
- Summarize the action items (for both of you) that have come out of this meeting. These will then be addressed in item #2 in your next meeting.
While I am offering this strategy to you today as an opportunity to support your employees and demonstrate the importance of compassion at work, in reality, this regular meeting is also the most effective way for you to be a good leader. This is a proven way to keep up-to-date on what your staff are working on, and to ensure that you are in the loop on anything that you need to know.
Don’t cancel these meetings!
One last thing about these regular one-on-one meetings with your direct reports. Do not, and I mean “DO NOT” cancel them. Unless there is a life-or-death emergency, keep these meetings as scheduled. If you cancel for anything other than a legitimate emergency, you will inadvertently send a message to your staff that supporting them is not your priority. And of course, this will completely defeat your objective of encouraging compassion at work.
For past video tips in this series, visit our Videos section.