Give employees a chance to share what’s on their minds

Most CEOs and business owners understand that their growth comes from doing less, thinking more and coaching others to assume more responsibilities. It’s not surprising then that developing talent is a vital CEO role.
How to accomplish it, though, is often less clear. One strategy is to utilize a “one-to-one,” a strategic conversation in which you and your direct reports (average to high-performers only) address long-term challenges and opportunities. It is neither transactional nor an update process.
Here is how to structure one-to-ones, as well as your role in these interactions which can be quite valuable:
1. Prioritize them. Protect the time and date for each as you would for a board meeting.
2. Each one-to-one should be at least one to two hours of uninterrupted time, per month. Turn off cell phones and place them out of sight.
3. Each executive is responsible for preparing a written agenda with four to eight items. Do not hijack it! This is their meeting, not yours.
4. Most of the agenda should focus on strategy and long-term developmental issues (both for the company and for themselves) and contain at least one opportunity to explore in depth. Teach your executives to regularly identify opportunities, not just problems, so that they learn how to think like owners and entrepreneurs.
5. Use the Rules of Four:
a. Listen four times longer than you speak. Your employees will perceive that as being just about equal.
b. Give four times as much positive feedback as negative feedback. Your employees will also perceive that as being just about equal.
c. Spend four times as much time on diagnosis as solution.
6. Be empathetic. Seeing the world through the other person’s eyes positively changes your relationship and interaction with them.
7. Be respectful.
8. Be flexible with your communication style. Recognize and change your natural style when necessary.
9. Use positive non-verbal behavior.
10. Use empathetic listening. It is your responsibility to hear what the other person is saying.
11. Challenge your key executives to move outside their technical and functional comfort zones and move toward leadership roles.
12. Create an action plan with mutually agreed upon action steps, including deadlines and expected outcomes. Write them down and review them at the next one-to-one.
13. Implement one-to-ones throughout your organization. Stagnant middle management creates a bottleneck for your company’s growth. To overcome it and promote more engagement, senior executives must conduct the same one-to-ones with their direct reports as they receive from you.
For your company to grow, decision-making must be pushed deeper into your organization where decisions can be made quicker and better. Not only does this create a culture with a strong sense of urgency, but it promotes a strategic differentiation of speed with quality and scalability for your business.
Cheryl B. McMillan is Chair, Northeast Ohio, at Vistage International