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- Make your 1:1 meetings impactful
Hi Evergreenites, happy to see you again.
That was pretty low energy. Let's try that again...
HEYYYY! How was the weekend? Ready for the week? You're going to kickass.
It's snowing right now in Evergreen HQ. I'm not mad. How can we be? It's mid-November.
With one kid home sick, what better way to start my Monday than with a little snow, cozied up on the couch, watching movies?
End of the year for marketers and managers can be busy. You've got sales, meetings, time off, and performance reviews. Layering that all in with your family time and holiday shopping can be a little much.
So, today, I want to talk about how you can prepare for your performance reviews or 1:1 meetings so that you can feel assured about these final weeks of the year. AND to start 2023 off with a bang.
Master your 1:1 meetings
One-on-one meetings can bring up a variety of emotions. When I manage, I love them. They give me a chance to build trust with the team. But as an employee, it got my nerves. "Ugh, I have to go talk to him?" (insert bad-boss-vibes here). But I had to learn how to use that time to my advantage.
It doesn't matter what side of the table you're on. Here is what you need to do: talk to them like they're human.
It may sound simple, but you're building roots to a connection that can stand together in any storm. And this, this right here, is good for the company and your future.
We start to build strong roots when we remind ourselves that we are all human and deserve human conversations.
This isn't a race to the top. This isn't a race to the highest dollar. The best ads or creative or blogs. This is about creating real connections with people so that when it's needed, you know that you can support each other.
When you have your one-on-one meeting, look at the other person and ask them how they are doing. Ask them what is driving them to show up every day and what is driving them to do this job and what is driving them to continue.
This simple step works. Stronger connections build better products, creativity begins to flow, and trust builds so that all our ideas can be heard. Connection is essential.
Here are 4 questions to start off your one-on-one meetings:
How are you?
What is it I can help you with today?
What is it that is driving you to show up here today?
What is it that is causing you to not want to be here?
I had these real conversations with my team because I wanted to know what sparked their life. I had built that trust, so they knew that even if it was difficult. I told them these conversations were between us unless they asked me to take it up to leadership. Because, together, we were building a career that supported their goals.
In a 1:1 meeting with Mike, a Google Ads account strategies, he showed up and said, "I just don't feel seen by anybody else here." It broke my heart because I knew it was true. I listened to him, guided him to find joy in his work. Then took it to upper management to make a plan to keep Mike on the path to success.
It sucked. Yes. But what mattered to Mike was that I listened to him and that he knew he could trust me.
So how did we get there? Sure, we talked and trusted each other. But Mike also showed up with direct questions to me.
How to prepare for your next 1:1 meeting or performance review:
Know your goals for the next quarter and year.
Be prepared to share your wins!
Think about where you need support and how to ask for it.
Get ready for anything!
In order to build a career that will support the life you want, show up to your meetings ready to learn and grow. That is how these meeting make an impact on your career. Each job has it's own struggles, but it is essential that you put in the work to find success where you are.
Having human connection is essential to created a strong and rooted career.
✨What I'm loving on Twitter
Nicole talks abouot upwork alternativesJoel tells us what NOT to do on our resumesFaiza shares a list of SEO tools we all need to explore TechLadies gives tips on how to talk about burnout with your boss I talk about growing roots
📕 What I’m reading
Power Moves by Lauren McGoodwin
It lives up to its subtitle How Women Can Pivot, Reboot, and Build a Career of Purpose. This book, written by the creator of Career Contessa website, is FULL of actionable steps to take when going through your career. This isn't just for those that are looking for work, but full of Power Moves that anyone can take to get the most out of your career.
💼 What I'm learning
These tips for using social to land the next job are so important for many of us right now. Check out this article Social tips for finding jobs after a layoff on Morning Brew. They reemphasize how important it is to create a LinkedIn profile that is targeted. If you need help with it, I'd love to help you find exactly what you need to write and how to start networking.
Uhm, it's still snowing. Not just a blanket anymore..
What awesome thing are you building this week? Keep going, you're doing great.
Lyndee
P.S. I've been working on my portfolio and starting to take on freelance work. Let me know if you have projects that could use some marketing support!