Managers and one-to-ones

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A meeting for one person

A one-to-one is a regular meeting between a manager and one person on their team. Priya has one with each person on the operations team every week. It is for that person: their work, their worries and how they want to grow.

Whose meeting is it?

GitLab's handbook: "Both parties add items to the agenda. Preferably, the majority added by the team member. If the manager puts more than half of the items on the agenda this is an indication that something is wrong."

Quick check

Who should add most of the items to a one-to-one's agenda?

  1. The team member
  2. The manager
  3. The CEO
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The team member

It is their meeting. A manager filling the agenda is a sign something is wrong.

Keep it booked

GitLab: "canceling a 1-1 should be a last resort." Moving it for "more important" work tells the person they come second.

Pick the answer

A manager has a busy week. What should happen to Theo's one-to-one?

  1. It happens as booked
  2. It is cancelled
  3. It becomes a status report by email
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It happens as booked

Theo's time with their manager is kept, even in a busy week.

Not a status report

Progress lives on the task board. A one-to-one is for what a board can't show: "I'm stuck", "I want to try leading", "something at home is hard".

Private notes

GitLab keeps each agenda in a document shared only between the two people: "This should not be a public document because performance feedback should be as private as possible."

Quick check

One-to-one notes should be shared with the whole team.

Show the answer

False

Feedback and worries stay between the two people.

Where can I grow?

People want to know what the next step looks like.

Bolt says: Next: career ladders.

Fact-checked 12 October 2026