This article is part of our Leading in the Middle: 2025 series. Throughout the year, we will share Thought Leadership articles by UNC Executive Development Senior Associate Dean Dave Hofmann on how to lead effectively from any position in an organization.
You can read the 2024 series by downloading Dave’s ebook, Leading in the Middle: 2024.
One-on-one meetings between managers and their direct reports are valuable opportunities to align, share progress, and grow professionally. An idea to make sure these meetings are efficient and effective is to structure the discussion into three categories which I’ve labeled:
- Update: “What progress has been made and other general updates”
- Inform: “What are we working on” and “What I am going to do”
- Consult: “What I need help solving”
Here is a little more on this structure and some ideas about what to include in each category. Of course, both the manager and direct report would need to be aligned on adopting this structure.
Update: “What progress has been made and other general updates”
This first category is backward-focused on bringing your manager up to speed on what has happened since your last meeting. How are you or your team tracking toward goals and major milestones? If there were any setbacks or challenges, you might want to bring your manager up to speed on those and briefly describe how the team overcame them. Essentially, you want to update your manager on progress toward goals and any significant happenings related to that progress.
You also should include any additional general updates or information discovered while doing the work. For example, in the process of doing your work, have you learned anything you think your manager should know about? For example, have you heard about a new product that your competition is working on or recently attended a conference and learned about some changes coming to the industry? Or have you learned something from customers about how your product is being perceived in the marketplace?
In short, use this category to share updates about what has happened since your last meeting and any additional general items that you think would be helpful for your manager to know.
Inform: “What are we working on” and “What I am going to do”
This second category shifts from the past and general updates to what is coming in the future. You should talk about anything the team will be working on between now and the next meeting with your manager. What objectives will you be working on related to making progress toward your goals and your team’s goals? Keep it high-level and only address major actions or initiatives.
Also include in this category decisions and actions that you will make or take in the foreseeable future that you want your manager to know about because of the significance to the team’s goals and objectives. Essentially, you feel empowered to make these decisions and take these actions, but you want to inform your manager of what you’re going to do to help drive the performance of your team.
You are not necessarily asking for your manager’s input or advice. Rather, you are informing them of what you are planning to do as a leader. Of course, they are free to chime in, but in this category are the big decisions that you believe you are empowered to make. Said differently, you do not want your manager to be surprised if they learn of the decision from another source after the fact. You are positioning your manager to be able to say, “Yes, I knew that was happening. [Your Name] looped me in and I was supportive.”
On the positive side: This might be a new business opportunity where you are going to incur some greater-than-usual costs to try to secure the business. So, the framing might be, “I want to give you a heads up on this. We have an opportunity to get in the door at XYZ Company. I think the potential upside for long-term business is significant. We’re going to do ABC to see if we can land the business which is going to go above what we usually invest in terms of time and energy. But we think it is worth it. Assuming you do not have any concerns, we will move forward.”
On the negative side: This could be a response to a customer/client situation or a quality issue with a shipped product. Again, the framing, is, “I want to give you a heads up on something…”
Once again, these are decisions you feel empowered to make or situations you are empowered to handle. But, given the significance of the issue, you want to inform your manager just in case there is something in the broader context that is relevant or there is something the manager wants you to consider in the process. You are allowing the manager to chime in, but you do not need their help in figuring out what to do. It also loops the manager in if word of the decision, action, or situation comes to them through a different source. (Key rule: Never surprise your boss.)
Consult: “What I need help solving”
The final category includes complex situations or challenges that you are facing. Here, you want to engage with your manager as a thought partner to figure out the best course of action. This could be any number of issues where you need to leverage the manager’s experience, network, knowledge about the organization, or knowledge about the broader context within which your team is operating.
An example could be managing internal politics related to gaining support for an idea for innovation. Say your team has such an idea that requires gaining support from a different division with whom you rarely work, but where your manager has a strong existing relationship with the division’s leader. Your goal is to tap into your manager’s thoughts on how best to approach the situation, gain insights into the division leader’s motivations and metrics, and strategize how best to position the initiative as having win-win potential.
As another example, if you are leading a very technical type of work in which your manager happens to have extensive skill, then you would certainly want to leverage their expertise for a particularly vexing issue. When discussing this type of challenge, you will often find that your manager may not have the answer, but they do know someone in the organization who can help. You might hear, “That’s a tough issue for sure. You should talk to so-and-so. They faced a similar situation on a project a year or two ago. Let me provide a warm introduction, and then you can take it from there.”
It is important to note that you are not giving your manager the problem to solve. Rather, you are leveraging their experience, expertise, and knowledge as a thought partner while you seek to solve the problem. You are also tapping into their network – which will often be broader and deeper than yours.
While working through these three categories, you should ideally be having an ongoing conversation with your manager. Additionally, it’s important to leave room for your manager to share any thoughts or concerns that haven’t been addressed yet.
Why This Structure Works
This simple three-category structure can help keep your meetings focused, intentional, and productive. It ensures you’re covering what has happened, what will soon happen, and what you need help with. It also ensures that your manager is aware of any significant decisions you are implementing and the situations your team is working to solve.
Remember these three categories for better one-on-one meetings:
- Update: “What progress has been made and other general updates”
- Inform: “What are we working on” and “What I am going to do”
- Consult: “What I need help solving”
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