“I finally have a seat at the leadership table, and I feel like I don’t belong there.”
When you move from manager to director, staff meetings can be intimidating. The other directors have plans for their teams, and their goals don’t always align with yours. Meeting time is precious, and getting agenda time can feel like a competition.
But the most important work doesn’t happen during the staff meeting. It happens one-on-one with those other directors.
Scheduling recurring one-on-ones with your peers accomplishes several things:
👉 Foster Alignment: Understand each other’s challenges and work together on common goals.
👉 Break Down Silos: Identify communication gaps and clarify misunderstandings.
👉 Build Trust: When future crises come, the strong relationships that come from regular one-on-ones give you the trust to find solutions quickly.
👉 Offer Mutual Mentoring: Each person comes with unique strengths and backgrounds. Trade that knowledge and experience to build skills for both of you.
👉 Find Creative Solutions: Combine your brainstorms to find new opportunities for reaching shared goals.
The time you reserve for one-on-ones with your peers can be far more profitable that the time you spend together in the broader staff meeting. Build those relationships with your peers and prepare yourself and your department for greater growth.
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