WHAT SHOULD YOU DO FOR YOUR END-OF-THE-YEAR REVIEW WITH AN EMPLOYEE? USE THIS ONE-ON-ONE MEETING TEMPLATE. With December upon us (already!), many managers have been asking me if I have a

one-on-one meeting template for their end-of-the-year review with a direct report. Yes, I do have one 🙂 The end of the year is an opportune time — an ideal time, truly — to reflect together

with your direct report, on what went well, what didn’t, in what they were most encouraged, and in what ways they weren’t. In fact, your year-end one-on-one meeting can establish a cohesive

narrative for you and your direct report that “we’re good”. (Or, conversely, it may reveal the even-more-important insight that “Hmm, maybe this isn’t likely a good fit for the both of us.”)

review where you’re asking someone to evaluate themselves or rate their performance on a scale of 1 to 10. No, no, no. If this one-on-one meeting is as much about setting the tone for your

working relationship as it is identifying areas of improvement and growth for next year, then your questions need to be different than the cookie-cutter performance review questions that we

typically cycle through the mill. Here’s how. To have your year-end one-on-one meeting be reflective, constructive, and dare I say rejuvenating, USE THIS ONE-ON-ONE MEETING TEMPLATE:

CATCHING UP (10–15 MINUTES): * _What are you most looking forward to this holiday season?_ * _How has the workflow with the end of the year crunch been feeling?_ REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST YEAR

(30–45 MINUTES): * _When you consider this past year in full, how do you feel about the progress you personally made? How about the progress your team made?_ * _How did the pace of work,

and the pace of progress feel across the year?_ * _When did you feel most proud to be a part of the company this past year?_ * _When did you feel most discouraged last year?_ * _Who’s help

or support on the team have you been most appreciative of?_ * _What do you think has been the biggest area of growth for you? A time where you thought, “Woah, I really got better at this” or

“I really learned something?”_ * _Are there any ways that you’ve seen me grow as a leader?_ * _In what ways has our work relationship changed over time? In what ways have we made positive

progress? What are the areas we both need to work on how we work together?_ LOOKING AHEAD (30 MINUTES): * _What can I do better in the upcoming year to be the best manager to you, as

possible?_ * _In what ways do you want to stretch and grow in the upcoming year?_ * _What about work, culture, or how the team is run do I need to pay closer attention to as a leader?_ *

_How can we better challenge and support each other in the upcoming year?_ TAKEAWAYS AND NEXT STEPS (10 MINUTES): * What are we both taking away from this conversation? * Are there any next

steps each of us needs to take for the upcoming year? If you use this one-on-one meeting template, it’s likely that you won’t get through all of these questions in a single 1–1.5 hour period

— and that’s fine! The goal here is to have the tone of the conversation be less about “Here’s how I’m judging and evaluating you” and more about “Here’s the progress we made, and the

progress we’re going to make moving forward together.” Remember, you can set the tone for your working relationship and your upcoming weekend with the right conversation. Use this one-on-one

meeting template to steer you in that desired direction. ✨_ Psst! Did you know we have a __One-on-Ones Tool in Know Your Team__? It gives you __HUNDREDS OF QUESTIONS AND ONE-ON-ONE MEETING

TEMPLATES__, just like this — so you no longer have to copy ‘n paste these one-on-one questions from our blog posts _😉_. __Check out Know Your Team out for holding your one-on-one meetings

here_.