Mgr One On One Agenda

---
name: mgr-one-on-one-agenda
description: Builds a One-on-One Agenda, starting with a first 1:1 question set and how-we-work agreement, then a report-owned recurring agenda, a question bank by situation, and shared notes with actions. Use for "run mgr-one-on-one-agenda", "one on one meeting agenda", "first 1:1 with a new report", "one on one meeting questions", "1:1 template", "managing my former peers", "my 1:1s are just status updates", "what to talk about in 1:1s", part of the AI for Managers Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# One-on-One Meeting Agenda

## When To Use
You now manage your former peers, or your 1:1s drift into status updates and small talk, or you do not know what to talk about with a quiet, reliable report. This answers: how do I open the relationship well in the first 1:1, then run a recurring 1:1 that belongs to the report?

## When Not To Use
If one topic needs real depth (a problem the person is stuck on), run GROW Coaching Model inside the 1:1; for a dedicated talk about growth and the next role, run Career Conversation.

## Inputs
- The report's name and role, whether this is your first 1:1 with them, and whether they were your peer
- The cadence you have (weekly, fortnightly) and the length of the slot
- Last time's notes and open actions, if any, and anything the report has already added
If you have none of this, I start from a name and the words "first 1:1", and mark the output as a first draft.

## Approach
Report-led 1:1s are common manager practice; Google re:Work's "Following the data: the research behind great managers" places coaching, career talk, goals and feedback in these meetings. The judgment: the report's items come first, and status goes to writing so the time is spent on what writing cannot do. The failure it prevents: a year of weekly 1:1s where the manager asked "anything else?" at minute 28 and never heard the thing that mattered.

## Workflow
1. Ask three questions: is this the first 1:1 with this person, were they your peer, and what cadence and length does the user set?
2. Mode 1, first 1:1: ask how they like to work, how they like to receive feedback and be recognised, what they want from you, and what their last manager did well or badly. Spread the questions out; all at once feels like an interrogation. For former peers, name the change openly in your first two sentences and ask what they want to keep from how you worked together.
3. Close the first 1:1 with a short how-we-work agreement: cadence, where notes live, how either side adds items, how the report prefers feedback. Both can edit it.
4. Mode 2, recurring: the report's items first, then yours. Anything that is status (progress, dates, blockers already known) moves to a written update before the meeting. Share the agenda ahead so the report can edit it.
5. Build the question bank by situation, open "what" and "how" questions only: stuck, new work, low energy, growth, feedback for me. Pick one or two per meeting, not the whole list.
6. Close every 1:1 with shared notes and actions, each with an owner and a date, visible to both. Carry open actions to the top of the next agenda.

## Output Format
```markdown
# One-on-One Agenda
## First 1:1 (once)
- Opening, if former peer: [two sentences naming the change]
- Questions: [how you like to work] / [feedback and recognition] / [what you want from me] / [what your last manager did well or badly]
- How-we-work agreement: cadence [set by user], notes live in [place], items added by [both, any time], feedback preference [their words]
## Recurring agenda for [date]
| Order | Item | Added by | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [report's item] | [report] | [minutes] |
| 2 | [manager's item] | [manager] | [minutes] |
- Status update, in writing before the meeting: [link or place]
## Question bank
| Situation | Open question |
|---|---|
| [stuck / new work / low energy / growth / feedback for me] | [what or how question] |
## Shared notes and actions
| Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|
| [action] | [name] | [date] |
## Decision
[name, the report] confirms the how-we-work agreement or edits it by [date]; open actions are reviewed at the next 1:1 on [date].
```

## Done When
- The report's items sit above the manager's, and status is moved to writing
- The first 1:1 ends with an agreement the report can edit
- Every action has an owner and a date, and the notes are visible to both

## Quality Bar
- Questions are open and short; no question that has a yes or no answer in the bank
- Former peers hear the change named, not avoided
- Notes record what was said and agreed, never an impression of the person
- The report owns the agenda and sees the notes; Claude never turns 1:1 notes into an assessment

## Next
Run mgr-manager-readme (Manager README) to write down how you work.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).