Template

15-minute one-on-one template

A one-on-one squeezed into fifteen minutes for a busy week: one win, one blocker, one ask — and a date for the full conversation.

15 minutesFor Managers and team members with a full weekAgenda room

Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

One win3 min
- What is one thing that went well since we last spoke?
The one blocker5 min
- If I could remove one thing in your way this week, what would it be?
One ask of me4 min
- What do you need from me before Friday?
When we talk properly3 min
- Which day next week can we have the full half hour?

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.

Win. The client signed the renewal.

Blocker. Still waiting for legal to review the new contract — five days now.

Ask. Chase legal today; done during the call.

Full one-on-one. Tuesday at 2pm.

Running it well

Start on time and finish on time. A short one-on-one that overruns teaches people the short version is not real.
Spend most of the time on the blocker. That is where fifteen minutes can change someone’s week.
Do not use it to give difficult feedback. That needs the full conversation, booked now.

Ways to change it

WalkingFifteen minutes on a walk outside or on the phone, cameras off.

In writing firstThey send the three answers an hour before; the call is only about the blocker.

When to skip it. When the person is struggling or there is something difficult to discuss — book the full time instead.

Questions

Is a 15-minute one-on-one long enough?

For a quick check in a busy week, yes — as long as the full one-on-one still happens regularly.

What should you cover in a short one-on-one?

One win, the biggest blocker and one thing they need from you, then book the next full conversation.

How often can you use the short version?

Now and then; if every one-on-one is fifteen minutes, the deeper conversations stop happening.

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.Remote one-on-oneA one-on-one for a manager and someone who works away from the office: the work, and the things a video call hides — workload, isolation and what does not reach them from the team.

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