1:1 meeting template for startup managers
If you run a team of 5 to 30 people, 1:1s are probably the only time each person gets your full attention. They are also the first meeting to get skipped when a launch slips or a customer escalates. A simple, repeatable template helps with both problems: the meeting has a shape, so it's easier to protect, and it doesn't depend on you remembering what to ask.
Below is a template you can copy into a doc today, followed by how to run it, what tends to go wrong, and answers to the questions people usually ask.
The template
Copy this into a shared doc for each person. Keep one running doc per person, newest meeting at the top, so you both can scroll back.
1:1 — [Name] / [Manager]
Date:
Cadence: weekly / every two weeks, 30 min
1. Their agenda (they fill this in first)
-
-
2. Check-in (2–3 min)
- How are you doing, honestly, on a 1–5?
- Anything outside work affecting your week that you want me to know?
3. Progress and blockers (10 min)
- What went well since we last talked?
- What's stuck, and what would unstick it?
- Is there anything you're waiting on from me?
4. Feedback, both ways (5 min)
- One thing I noticed you did well:
- One thing to try differently:
- What should I do more of, or less of, as your manager?
5. Growth (5 min, at least monthly)
- What do you want to get better at this quarter?
- Is your current work helping with that?
6. Action items
- [ ] Owner — task — by when
- [ ] Owner — task — by when
Notes for next time:That's it. Six sections, thirty minutes. You won't cover every section every week, and that's fine. The structure is there so the important parts don't quietly disappear.
Copy the 1:1 template, or create a free workspace for 1:1s and goals. Review cycles are on Team.
How to run it
Let them own the agenda
The most useful rule for 1:1s is that the meeting belongs to the person, not the manager. Ask them to add their topics before the meeting, ideally the day before. Start with their list. If they have nothing, that's information too: either things are fine, or they don't yet trust that the time is theirs.
Your own topics go after theirs. If you have something urgent, say so at the start and agree on time for it.
Keep the cadence boring
Weekly works well for new hires, people in their first management role, and anyone working on something messy. Every two weeks is often enough for experienced people on stable work. Whatever you choose, keep it at the same time each week and treat it as hard to move. If you must move it, reschedule rather than cancel.
In a small company, it's tempting to say "we talk all day anyway." You do talk all day, about the work. The 1:1 is for the things that don't come up in standups: frustration, career questions, friction with a teammate, an idea that isn't fully formed yet.
Don't turn it into a status update
If most of the meeting is the person reading out what they did this week, move that to a written async update or your team's tracker. Use the 1:1 for what's hard to write down: why something is stuck, what they think about it, and what they need.
A good test: if the meeting could have been a Slack message, it was a status update.
Ask open questions, then wait
"Is everything OK?" gets "yep." "What was the most frustrating part of this week?" gets an actual answer. Some questions that tend to work:
- What's taking more of your energy than it should?
- If you were running the team, what would you change first?
- What's something you'd like more context on?
- Is there anything you've been meaning to bring up?
After you ask, stay quiet longer than feels natural. People often say the important thing on the second try.
Write down action items, and close them
End every 1:1 with clear action items, each with one owner and a date. Start the next 1:1 by checking the previous ones. When managers keep their own promises from 1:1s, people bring more to them. When they don't, the meetings slowly go quiet.
Make feedback small and regular
The feedback section is there so that nothing in a performance review is a surprise. One specific observation a week ("the way you wrote up that incident made it easy for the support team to act") is more useful than a long list four times a year. Ask for feedback on yourself too, and act on at least some of it visibly.
Common mistakes
Cancelling when things get busy. Busy weeks are exactly when people need the time. A shorter 1:1 is better than no 1:1.
Talking more than listening. As a rough guide, the person should be talking most of the time. If you notice you're explaining, stop and ask a question.
No notes. Without a shared doc, you'll repeat conversations and forget commitments. Notes don't need to be long. A few lines and the action items are enough.
Only discussing work in progress. If growth and career never come up, people will look for those conversations somewhere else, sometimes at another company.
Using the same questions forever. The template is a starting point. Rotate a question or two every few weeks so the meeting doesn't feel like a form.
Saving bad news for review time. If something isn't working, say so in a 1:1, early and specifically, with a clear idea of what good looks like.
Founders doing 1:1s with everyone forever. Once a team passes about 8 to 10 direct reports per person, quality drops. That's usually a sign it's time for team leads to take some 1:1s over.
FAQ
How long should a 1:1 meeting be?
Thirty minutes is a sensible default for weekly 1:1s. If you meet every two weeks, 45 minutes gives you room for growth topics. It's better to finish early than to always run over.
How often should startup managers hold 1:1s?
Weekly or every two weeks, depending on how new the person is and how much is changing in their work. New hires usually benefit from weekly 1:1s for at least their first few months.
What should I do if the person says they have nothing to talk about?
Use the template sections as prompts: ask about blockers, feedback for you, or what they want to learn next. If it keeps happening, ask directly whether the meeting is useful to them and what would make it more useful.
Should 1:1 notes be shared with the employee?
Yes. A shared doc keeps both of you accountable for action items and avoids surprises. Keep anything genuinely private, like a health issue they mentioned, out of shared notes unless they're comfortable with it.
What's the difference between a 1:1 and a performance review?
A 1:1 is a regular, informal conversation about the work, blockers and growth. A performance review is a periodic, more formal look back at a longer period. Good 1:1s make reviews easier, because the feedback has already been given along the way.
Can founders skip 1:1s in a very small team?
You can, but you'll miss things. Even in a team of five, a short regular 1:1 is often where people raise concerns they wouldn't bring up in a group.
Use this template in your own documents
The 1:1 template above is the main thing to copy and use. Copy it into a shared doc for each person, with the newest meeting at the top.
If a 1:1 is the follow-up after a review, the first performance review guide and the performance review template for small teams cover that conversation.
For product information, see Prixie's 1:1s overview.