Episode 12

Last updated Sep 4, 2022 Edit Source

Original Recording Date 2018-09-23 

• John stresses the importance of an agenda (to be created 24 hours or more ahead of time) 

• Both parties can contribute to the meeting agenda (manager and employee) 

• Meeting structure suffers without an agenda 

• How many listeners out there have weekly 1-on-1 meetings with their manager?  Let us know on social media! 

• A yearly performance review won’t be a surprise if effective weekly 1-on-1 meetings are happening 

• Don’t just bring problems / complaints.  Bring something you need help with and what you have already tried. 
• Helpful asks – leveraging a manager’s experience, leveraging a manager’s relationship with other department 
• Be prepared for feedback from your manager on any request 

• The 1-on-1 is about your professional development / career journey (how to get better) 

• Keep project update meetings separate 

^05e048

• What is the individual contributor career path or management career path for you? 
• How can you get better at what you are doing? 
• I have new interests / am requesting new challenges 
• Pay raises are a separate conversation from career conversations 

• In a good company culture, managers should be encouraged to have regular 1-on-1 meetings with direct reports 
• A manager not bringing this up may just be oversight on his / her part and not intentional 
• A lack of career progression conversations period could be a lack of organizational maturity 
• Development of employees could reflect well the manager 

• Stick to the cadence! 

• Proximity 

  • Manager and employee working in different locations 

    • Manager may have less visibility into employee day-to-day work 

  • Manager and employee working in the same location 

    • More difficult to have a long-term strategy 

    • Talking over the cube wall is usually a project update 

• Managers with large number of reports 

  • Possible indication of lack of managers in the organization 

  • Not scalable for the manager 

  • Could cause infrequent conversations and feedback and frustration for both parties 

• Culture 

  • Are 1-on-1s being encouraged from the top down? 

• Let us know if you want this topic revisited 

26:19 – How to Leave Your Organization Gracefully 

• Nick’s blog -  https://www.staffone.com/leaving-company-right-way  

  • Inspired by Nick leaving his last position for VMware 

  • Advice for both the employee 

  • Preserving relationships 

  • Be prepared to leave that day 

  • Be honest with reasons to leave 

  • Preserve relationships with co-workers 

  • Stay engaged until the end 

  • Expanding on “Be Prepared to Leave that Day” 

    • It’s a possibility 

    • Perhaps with short-timers 

    • Prepare documents you need to take with you 

      • Performance reviews 

      • Organizational contacts 

      • Not proprietary employer intellectual property and work product 

  • Expanding on “Preserve Relationships” 

    • Clarify employer’s protocol for disclosure to other employees 

  • Possibly help with a job listing 

  • Project transition plans 

• Manager Tools - How to Resign 

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2006/07/how-to-resign-part-1-of-3 

  • Tell NO ONE 

    • Spiceworks Thread:  Dear SpiceRex: What’s my escape route? 

  • Get your next position before leaving 

  • Don’t bad-mouth people on the way out 

    • Just say you’ve been happy and it’s time to move on 

    • Repeat until they stop asking 

    • Nick reminds us that the things you do on the way out can ruin your reputation at the organization you’re leaving 

  • You need buffer cash in case you’re walked out the door 

    • What if your new position offer is rescinded 

    • What if your new position’s pay day is further away than you thought? 

    • Have an emergency fund of 6 or more months  

  • Assume you’ll lose access immediately 

  • Copy reasonably 

  • Prepare a Key Project Report - Transition File 

  • Make lunch appointments with friends and colleagues you want to stay in touch with 

• Manager Tools - What To Do With A Counter Offer 

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2011/11/what-do-with-a-counter-offer 

  • Don’t take a counter offer! 

  • If you have reasons to leave, will more money really change all the other things? 

  • You’re alerting your current employer that you need to be replaced, even if you accept the counter 

  • Ideally you’d leave on your timeline, not your employer’s 

  • Taking a counter burns the relationship with the recruiter, hiring manager, and prospective new employer 

  • If it’s just money, you should have had a different conversation 

  • If they only give you a raise after you have an offer, that’s not a healthy place 

  • If additional compensation was dangled in the past without follow-through, there’s no reason to believe they’d follow-through with what’s promised in a counter 

  • What if you take the counter and they don’t follow through again? 

  • If an employer refuses to give you compensation until the counter-offer 

    • Either calculated that they could get away with not compensating you at the level they valued you 

    • Or they’re keeping you in the position short term while they search for your cheaper replacement. 

49:00 Outtro 

49:55 Stinger “I said it this time!”