A 1:1 meeting templatefor engineering managers, ready to copy.
A one-on-one is the one meeting that belongs to the person you manage. It's where problems surface early, career plans get made and trust gets built, if it has a shape. Without one, it turns into a status update that could have been a message.
Below is the template I'd use: a 30-minute agenda, a running notes doc, the questions that work, and one item most 1:1s skip, upcoming time off, which is how you avoid finding out about a vacation the week before a release.
The template, to copy
1:1 – [Name] / [Manager] – [Date] · Their topics (they fill this in first) · How are things? Energy, workload, anything bothering them · Work Blockers, decisions they need from me, feedback both ways · Growth One thing they're learning or want to work toward · Coming up Time off, travel, on-call, anything in the next six weeks · Action items Who, what, by when.
Keep one running doc per person
Use one shared doc per report, newest meeting at the top, with the template copied in each time. Both of you add topics during the week. Before the meeting you can scan the last few entries and see what's been on their mind.
Their topics go first. If they have nothing, that's fine: use the rest of the template.
A 30-minute agenda that works
5 minutes: how are things, really. 10 minutes: their topics. 5 minutes: work, blockers and feedback. 5 minutes: growth. 5 minutes: what's coming up, and action items.
Weekly for 30 minutes is the usual rhythm for engineers. Every two weeks works for senior people who need less. Don't cancel; move it instead.
Questions worth asking
“What's the most annoying part of your work right now?” “What would you like more of, and less of?” “Is there anything I'm doing that makes your job harder?” “What's something you'd like to learn this quarter?” “Who on the team has been helpful lately?”
Ask one or two, not all of them. The point is to start a conversation, not run a survey. For questions by situation, like a new report, a career talk or signs of burnout, use the 1:1 question bank. Running one with your reports' reports? See the skip-level meeting template.
The item most 1:1s forget: what's coming up
Ask about the next six weeks: time off, travel, on-call, a doctor's appointment, a family thing. People mention plans in passing in a 1:1 long before they put in a request, and that's when you can still plan around them.
Write it down where the team plans, not just in the 1:1 doc. A vacation mentioned in a 1:1 and never put on the team calendar is the one that surprises you on release day.
Make 1:1s worth having
Their meeting, not yours
Let them set most of the agenda. Status updates belong somewhere else.
Don't cancel
Moving a 1:1 is fine. Cancelling tells people they're the first thing to go.
Close the loop
Start each 1:1 with last time's action items.
Take notes in the shared doc
Both of you can see what was agreed.
Ask about the next six weeks
Time off, travel and on-call, so plans don't surprise you.
Walk sometimes
A phone call on a walk makes some conversations easier.
What people mention in 1:1sbelongs on the team calendar.
The vacation someone mentions in a 1:1 in March is the one that clashes with the release in May. Put it on the calendar the team plans from, as tentative if it isn't booked. Here's a team board with a tentative request from a 1:1. It's live, so try it.
Tentative plans count
Mark a maybe as tentative: it shows up, and the board says who may be away.
Release dates warn you
A release date names everyone who's away on it, confirmed or tentative.
Requests without logins
Your team sends time off through a link and you see it on the board.
- A tentative long weekend from a 1:1
- The release date warns who's away
- Everyone's time off on one board
- Drag a tentative bar to confirm or move it
Turn what you hear in 1:1s into a calendar the team can see.
Forgot keeps the whole team's time off, tentative plans and release dates on one timeline, and warns you when someone's out on a day that matters.
- Tentative time off that still counts
- A warning when someone's out on a release date
- Everyone's time off on one timeline
- Your team sends dates without signing up
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Questions
What should be on a 1:1 meeting agenda?
Their topics first, then how they're doing, work and blockers, growth, what's coming up in the next few weeks (including time off), and action items.
How long should a 1:1 be?
30 minutes weekly is common for engineers, or 30 to 45 minutes every two weeks for senior people.
Who sets the agenda for a 1:1?
Mostly the person you manage. The manager adds topics too, but the meeting is theirs.
What questions should a manager ask in a 1:1?
Open questions like “What's the most annoying part of your work right now?”, “What would you like more of, and less of?” and “Is anything I'm doing making your job harder?” Pick one or two each time.