Why 121 sessions with your team members are necessary

It may be tempting to skip organising 121 sessions, but don’t do it.

Regular 121 catch ups with your team members are important and necessary.

Why? Think back to good 121 sessions you’ve had. I hope they were fairly regular, they gave you a sense of continuity, and of being supported by your team leader. I also hope your manager was prepared for the call most of the times (let’s be realistic with everyone’s workload!).

On the opposite end, we have 121 sessions that are unpredictable in frequency and content. The manager appears to always be in a rush, and not prepared to have a catch up with you. I immediately find myself thinking in such meetings “Should I just give the time back because you don’t seem to want to be here with me?” Not a great feeling.

Make your 121 sessions count

Catch ups with your team members are an important window into what’s going on in their world. They are valuable because:

• they give a sense of continuous conversation, however they must be a regular occurence in your diaries to achieve that
• they are an opportunity to find out how your team members are doing in a confidential and safe setting
• your team member and you can discuss the progress of any assigned tasks or projects, and go over blockers that you may be able to help with; this is also when you can hold your team member accountable for their tasks
• they give you a chance to share good and not so good news without anyone else listening – and either celebrate or work on best support mechanisms for and with your team member
• lastly, they are your chance to build trust and rapport with your team member – one of the most important aspects of being their team leader

Reqular 121 sessions take time – to prepare, to hold them, and to follow up on actions identified during these catch ups.

However, skipping on them, or compromising their quality, is likely to have a bad impact on your relationship with your team member. That’s something we want to avoid.

We have prepared a quick guide on Regular 121 sessions. It’s free to download, and we hope it will help you.

Feature image by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash