Building a Strong Talent Pipeline: Strategies for Growth, Retention, and Succession in Higher Education Foundations-Optimizing Your 1:1s

Optimizing Your 1:1s

Pdf Summary

This document outlines three models and strategies for effective leadership communication and coaching in one-on-one (1:1) meetings between leaders and team members.

1. <strong>Relational Model for 1:1s:</strong>  
   The 1:1 conversation is divided into four focus areas: Relationship-Building (10%), Wins (25%), Frustrations (25%), and Projects (25%), followed by Feedback & Recap (15%). Leaders use specific, empathetic questions to explore how team members are feeling, their recent successes, challenges, blockers, and priorities. This model encourages shifting from transactional to transformational leadership by asking questions that foster growth, alignment with purpose, and long-term career vision, such as "What growth edge are you prioritizing this year?" or "What non-negotiables help you show up your best?" The emphasis is on engagement, development, and motivation.

2. <strong>Coaching for Development Model:</strong>  
   This model structures coaching around four steps:
   - <strong>Goal:</strong> Establish a meaningful, motivational goal aligned with the team member's purpose.  
   - <strong>Reality:</strong> Objectively assess current status, barriers, and successes.  
   - <strong>Options:</strong> Explore possible solutions and alternatives without judgment.  
   - <strong>Way Forward:</strong> Commit to concrete actions with timelines and accountability.  
   Sample coaching questions help uncover motivation, measure progress, and plan next steps, fostering ownership and growth.

3. <strong>Coaching for Performance Model:</strong>  
   Designed for feedback conversations, this model recommends beginning with a "micro-yes" to get buy-in, focusing feedback on observable behaviors and data (not assumptions), explaining the impact of the behavior, and then engaging in dialogue to clarify understanding and agree on next steps. Phrasing examples and questions ensure feedback is constructive, clear, and actionable.

Overall, these models emphasize empathetic, structured, and purposeful conversations that foster trust, motivation, development, and performance improvement through coaching and transformational leadership.

Keywords

leadership communication

1:1 meetings

relational model

coaching for development

coaching for performance

transformational leadership

team motivation

feedback strategies

goal setting

performance improvement