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1:1 Meeting Agenda Template
A structured template for effective manager-report conversations covering career growth, feedback, and blockers.
Template Type:People
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1:1 Meeting Agenda Template
One-on-ones are the most important meeting a manager has. They're dedicated time for your direct reports to discuss what matters most to them—career growth, concerns, ideas, and feedback. This template provides structure while keeping the conversation focused on the person, not project status.
Why Use a 1:1 Template?
Benefits:
- Ensures consistency across meetings
- Creates shared expectations
- Tracks topics over time
- Enables better preparation
- Focuses on growth, not just tasks
When to use:
- Weekly or bi-weekly 1:1s with direct reports
- Skip-level 1:1s (manager's manager)
- Peer 1:1s for collaboration
- First 1:1 with new team members
The Template
markdown
# 1:1: [Manager] ↔ [Direct Report]
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Duration:** [30/45/60 min]
**Location:** [Room/Video link]
---
## Pre-Meeting (Both fill out before meeting)
### [Direct Report]'s Topics
*What do you want to discuss today?*
1.
2.
3.
### [Manager]'s Topics
*What I'd like to cover:*
1.
2.
---
## Check-In (5 min)
### How are you doing? (1-10)
**Energy level:** [ ] / 10
**Stress level:** [ ] / 10
**Engagement:** [ ] / 10
### Highlight of the week?
### What's weighing on you?
---
## Main Discussion (20-40 min)
### [Direct Report]'s Topics
#### Topic 1: [Title]
**Discussion:**
**Action items:**
- [ ]
#### Topic 2: [Title]
**Discussion:**
**Action items:**
- [ ]
### [Manager]'s Topics
#### Topic: [Title]
**Discussion:**
**Action items:**
- [ ]
---
## Career & Growth (5-10 min)
### Progress on goals
*How are things going with [current goal/project]?*
### Skill development
*What skills are you building? What support do you need?*
### Career conversation
*Any thoughts on your growth path?*
---
## Feedback (5 min)
### For [Direct Report]
*What's going well:*
*Area to consider:*
### For [Manager]
*How can I better support you?*
---
## Blockers & Support Needed
*What's getting in your way?*
1.
2.
*What do you need from me?*
---
## Action Items Summary
| Action | Owner | Due |
|--------|-------|-----|
| | | |
---
## Notes for Next Time
*Topics to follow up on:*
1.
2.
**Next 1:1:** [Date/Time]Complete Example
markdown
# 1:1: Sarah Chen ↔ Alex Rivera
**Date:** 2025-10-15
**Duration:** 45 min
**Location:** Zoom (recurring link)
---
## Pre-Meeting
### Alex's Topics
1. Feeling stuck on the payment integration project
2. Want to discuss tech lead path
3. Team dynamics concern with new hire
### Sarah's Topics
1. Q4 goals alignment
2. Feedback on last week's design review
3. Conference speaking opportunity
---
## Check-In
### How are you doing? (1-10)
**Energy level:** 6 / 10
**Stress level:** 7 / 10
**Engagement:** 8 / 10
### Highlight of the week?
Finally got the caching layer working after wrestling with it for 3 days. Seeing 40% latency improvement in staging.
### What's weighing on you?
The payment integration timeline feels aggressive. Also, haven't been sleeping great—new baby is waking up a lot.
---
## Main Discussion
### Alex's Topics
#### Topic 1: Payment Integration Progress
**Discussion:**
Alex feels the original 4-week estimate was too optimistic given the Stripe API complexity discovered. Currently 1.5 weeks in and feels like we're at 25%, not 40%.
Root causes:
- Stripe's idempotency requirements more complex than expected
- Need to handle more edge cases (partial refunds, disputes)
- Testing environment setup took 3 days
**Options discussed:**
1. Extend timeline by 2 weeks (Sarah's preference)
2. Reduce scope (cut dispute handling for v1)
3. Add another engineer (not practical mid-project)
**Decision:** Combination of 1 and 2. Extend to 5 weeks total, move dispute handling to fast-follow. Alex to update project plan and communicate to stakeholders.
**Action items:**
- [ ] Alex: Update project timeline in Jira by EOD Thursday
- [ ] Sarah: Communicate revised timeline to Product (Friday standup)
- [ ] Alex: Document Stripe learnings for team wiki
#### Topic 2: Tech Lead Path
**Discussion:**
Alex interested in becoming a tech lead in next 12-18 months. Currently Senior Engineer (L5). Wants to understand what's needed.
Key areas for tech lead at our company:
1. Technical: Already strong
2. Project leadership: Getting there—payment project is good practice
3. Mentorship: Opportunity area—hasn't formally mentored yet
4. Cross-team influence: Some experience from API redesign
5. Technical decision-making: ADR writing is good, could do more
Sarah's observations:
- Alex's technical skills are ready for TL
- Need more practice in ambiguous situations
- Should work on giving harder feedback to peers
- Great candidate for TL in 9-12 months if focused
**Action items:**
- [ ] Sarah: Assign Alex as mentor for new hire (Jamie) starting next week
- [ ] Alex: Lead next sprint planning and retro
- [ ] Sarah: Include Alex in architecture review meeting (monthly)
- [ ] Alex: Read "The Manager's Path" chapters on tech lead role
#### Topic 3: Team Dynamics with New Hire
**Discussion:**
Concern that Jamie (started 3 weeks ago) is struggling but not asking for help. Alex notices Jamie stuck on tasks but not reaching out. Worried about saying something that could come across as critical.
Sarah's perspective:
- This is exactly the kind of situation a TL needs to handle
- It's an act of kindness to address early, not criticism
- Offer help, don't diagnose the problem
**Action items:**
- [ ] Alex: Have casual coffee chat with Jamie this week, offer to pair program
- [ ] Alex: Report back in next 1:1 on how it goes
- [ ] Sarah: Check in with Jamie directly as well
### Sarah's Topics
#### Topic: Q4 Goals Alignment
**Discussion:**
Sarah shared draft Q4 goals for the team. Wanted Alex's input on individual goals.
Team goals:
1. Ship payment v2 (includes Alex's project)
2. Reduce P1 incidents by 30%
3. Improve developer experience (CI time, local setup)
For Alex specifically:
- Lead payment integration to completion
- Mentor one engineer through their first quarter
- Contribute to on-call documentation
Alex's reaction: Goals feel right. Asked if CI improvement could be added since they care about it. Sarah agreed to add as stretch goal.
**Action items:**
- [ ] Sarah: Finalize Q4 goals and share with team by Friday
- [ ] Alex: Self-assess against goals at end of October
#### Topic: Feedback on Design Review
**Discussion:**
Alex led database schema design review last week. Sarah wanted to share feedback.
What went well:
- Came prepared with multiple options
- Explained trade-offs clearly
- Handled pushback from Dave gracefully
- Good visual diagrams
Area to consider:
- Could have set clearer timebox—meeting ran 20 min over
- Consider sending pre-read materials earlier (sent morning-of)
Alex appreciated the feedback. Will send pre-reads 48 hours ahead next time.
#### Topic: Conference Speaking Opportunity
**Discussion:**
Internal tech conference in December looking for speakers. Sarah thinks Alex's caching work would make a good talk.
Alex's reaction: Interested but nervous. Never done conference speaking. Worried about time commitment.
**Action items:**
- [ ] Alex: Decide by next 1:1 if interested
- [ ] Sarah: If yes, connect Alex with Mike who spoke last year for tips
- [ ] Sarah: Clarify that prep time counts as work time
---
## Career & Growth
### Progress on goals
Payment project is the main focus. On track for "Lead complex project" goal despite timeline adjustment.
### Skill development
Learning Stripe integration deeply. Also getting better at stakeholder communication—had to explain technical constraints to product team.
Wants to get better at:
- System design interviews (for tech lead loop)
- Giving direct feedback
### Career conversation
Still interested in tech lead path. Today's discussion was helpful. Feels like there's a clear path now.
---
## Feedback
### For Alex
**What's going well:**
Your technical skills continue to be excellent. The caching work was impressive. I also noticed you've been more vocal in team meetings—that's great to see.
**Area to consider:**
When you're stuck, try reaching out for help a bit earlier. You mentioned the Stripe testing took 3 days—Dave dealt with similar issues and could have helped. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.
### For Sarah
**How can I better support you?**
Alex: Would be helpful to have more visibility into what's coming next quarter so I can plan learning. Also, appreciated you defending the timeline change with product—that support helps.
---
## Blockers & Support Needed
**What's getting in your way?**
1. Stripe sandbox is flaky—sometimes takes 5 min to spin up
2. Need access to production logs for debugging an issue (currently only staging)
**What do you need from me?**
1. Air cover with product on timeline (discussed—Sarah handling)
2. Introduction to Stripe's support contact (Sarah has relationship)
---
## Action Items Summary
| Action | Owner | Due |
|--------|-------|-----|
| Update payment project timeline | Alex | Oct 17 |
| Communicate timeline to product | Sarah | Oct 18 |
| Document Stripe learnings on wiki | Alex | Oct 22 |
| Assign Alex as Jamie's mentor | Sarah | Oct 16 |
| Lead sprint planning | Alex | Oct 21 |
| Include Alex in arch review | Sarah | Nov 1 |
| Read Manager's Path (TL chapters) | Alex | Oct 29 |
| Coffee chat with Jamie | Alex | Oct 18 |
| Finalize Q4 goals | Sarah | Oct 18 |
| Decide on conference talk | Alex | Oct 22 |
| Get Alex prod log access | Sarah | Oct 17 |
| Intro to Stripe support | Sarah | Oct 16 |
---
## Notes for Next Time
1. Follow up on Jamie conversation
2. Check in on energy/sleep situation
3. Q4 goals finalized—review together
4. Conference talk decision
**Next 1:1:** Oct 22, 2025 at 2:00 PM1:1 Best Practices
1. Make It Their Meeting
The direct report's topics come first. This is their protected time.
2. Prepare in Advance
Both parties should add topics before the meeting. No "I don't have anything" meetings.
3. Don't Cancel
Rescheduling occasionally is fine. Regularly canceling signals that you don't value the person.
4. Keep Notes
Document key discussions and action items. Review them before each meeting.
5. Vary the Format
- Walking 1:1s
- Coffee shop
- Longer quarterly career conversations
- Occasional lunch
6. Ask Good Questions
For engagement:
- What's the best/worst part of your day?
- If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
- What's something you're proud of recently?
For career:
- What skills do you want to develop?
- Where do you see yourself in 2 years?
- What part of your work is most energizing?
For feedback:
- What should I start/stop/continue doing?
- Do you feel like you're learning and growing?
- Is there anything I could do differently to support you better?
7. Follow Up
Track action items and follow through. Nothing erodes trust faster than making commitments and forgetting them.
The best 1:1s feel like a conversation between trusted colleagues, not a status meeting. Your direct reports should leave feeling heard, supported, and clearer about their path forward.