Template

Career conversation template

Not this week's work: where the person wants to be in a few years, what is in the way, and one step to take next.

45 minutesFor Managers and the people who report to themAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. Where you are now8 min
    • Which parts of your work do you want more of — and less of?
  2. Where you want to get to12 min
    • If it went well, what would you be doing in two or three years?
    • What would you regret not having tried?
  3. What is in the way10 min
    • What skill, experience or chance are you missing?
  4. What I can do, and what I cannot8 min
    • What can I open up for you — and what is honestly not on offer here?
  5. One step before we next talk7 min
    • What will you do, what will I do, and when do we look again?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

More of. Working with customers directly. Less of. Night-time support cover.

Wants. To lead a small team within two years.

In the way. Has never run a project from start to finish.

Steps. Lena leads the spring launch; Maya asks about the team-lead training by the 15th. They look again in March.

Running it well

Ways to change it

For somebody new to workSpend most of the time on what they enjoy and are good at. A two-year plan can wait.
For somebody who likes where they areAsk what would keep the job interesting. Not everybody wants to move up, and that is fine.

When to skip it. During a crisis week. Move it, and say when it will happen — never drop it without a date.

Questions

What questions should you ask in a career conversation?

What work they want more and less of, where they want to be in a few years, what is in the way, and what one step would help.

How is a career conversation different from a performance review?

A review looks back at how the work went. A career conversation looks forward at what the person wants, and is not graded.

How often should managers talk about career development?

At least twice a year, and whenever the person's role or the team changes.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

1:1 meetingA weekly hour between a manager and one person — theirs first, yours second.Skip-level meetingA conversation between a manager and somebody two levels down, to hear what does not travel up on its own.First 1:1 with a new team memberBefore any work is discussed: how they like to work, what they want from you, and what a good first month looks like.Performance reviewA look back at the year and a plan for the next one, with no surprises in it.Mentoring sessionA mentor and the person they mentor: one real question, worked through, and something to try before next time.Client kickoff meetingThe first meeting with a new client after they sign: what success looks like to them, who does what, and how you will keep in touch.Renewal callA few weeks before a contract ends: what the customer got from it, what they want next, and whether they stay.Book club meetingA book club evening that gets past “did you like it?” — with a turn for everybody and the next book chosen before people leave.

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