536: How to Make One-on-Ones Valuable, with Jonathan Raymond

Jonathan Raymond: Good Authority

Jonathan Raymond is the founder of Refound, where he and his team work with organizations to create a company culture based in personal growth. He’s the author of the book Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For*. He’s also the creator of the Accountability Dial and the courses Good Accountability and Good Alignment.

In this conversation, Jonathan and I discuss the importance of starting with the purpose for a role when considering how to approach one-on-ones. We frame the importance of elevation and linking professional activities with personal growth. Plus, we invite leaders to begin with a few, practical steps.

Key Points

• Begin with the purpose of the role. Clarity on expectations and personal growth will both come from there.
• Utilize curiosity to begin to align on expectations and what’s next.
• Elevation is a key competency for managers in one-on-ones. Help employees link what the role needs and how their personal growth aligns to it.
• Be willing to stay flexible on how often and how long you meet for. There are times when more interaction may be wise, but one-on-ones should not take over your professional life as a manager.
• Few managers do this well. Even small movement to get better at supporting your employees can provide big returns in retention.

Resources Mentioned

• Good Alignment course*
• Good Accountability course*
• Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For by Jonathan Raymond

Related Episodes

• How to Balance Care and Accountability When Leading Remotely, with Jonathan Raymond (episode 464)
• How to Define a Role, with Pat Griffin (episode 517)
• How to Help People Thrive, with Jim Harter (episode 532)

Discover More

Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.