Every employee is different. What works with one person may not work with another. What you need from one person may be very different from another. What one person needs from you may be very different, too. How can you keep track?
Try using a tool I call “The People List.” This is a running list of all the key people with whom you need to be engaged in a one-on-one dialogue right now. Maybe it includes your boss or bosses, peers, and counterparts in other groups or departments, internally and externally. But first and foremost, your People List always should include your direct reports. Anybody who considers you his or her boss deserves a place on your People List.
Make the list. Who are all the key people with whom you need to be engaged in a one-on-one dialogue right now? Write (or type) the names in a vertical column on the far left side of the page. Next to each name, make a note: When and where was your last conversation with that person? Regarding what?
Now give that last conversation a grade for structure and substance. Would you give it an A+? B? C?
In the next column, to the right of your note next to each name, answer these questions for each person:
• What should you be talking about with this person?
• When and where are you going to have your next conversation?
• What do you need to do to prepare in advance?
Now you have a People List. Ask and answer those questions for yourself every day. Once you are in the habit, your People List will change. How you use it will evolve to meet your needs. But never stop asking and answering those questions.
