How to prepare for a 1-on-1 with your manager
Arrive with a short list of what you delivered, what you're stuck on, and one career item — evidence, not vibes. Five minutes of prep turns a status check into a career conversation.
You prepare for a 1:1 by arriving with a short list of what you delivered, what you're stuck on, and one career item — evidence, not vibes. Five minutes of prep turns a status check into a career conversation.
The prep routine
- Pull your wins since last time, framed as impact.
- Name one blocker and the specific decision you need.
- Raise one growth item — don't let career talk wait for review season.
- Note what you'll commit to before next time.
What to bring — and what to skip
- Two or three impact-framed wins since last time
- One blocker with the decision you need
- One forward-looking career or growth question
- A commitment for next time
- A raw status read-out
- "Everything's fine" with nothing specific
- A long list that buries the one thing that matters
- Improvising with no notes
Why evidence beats vibes
"It's going well" is forgettable. "I shipped X, which cut Y by 20%" is a line your manager can repeat in calibration. Prep isn't about looking polished — it's about handing your advocate ammunition for the rooms you're not in.
How Workfied helps here
Workfied hands you the week's impact in seconds, so 1:1 prep is read-and-go instead of a scramble through memory. Built for you, never visible to your manager. Encrypted in transit and at rest.
Evidence
The routine
Three things, five minutes: impact since last time, one blocker, one career item.
Manager practice
The mechanism
"It went well" is forgettable. A specific, dated win is a line your manager can repeat in calibration.
Workfied house view
Include vs cut
Cut the raw status read-out. Keep two or three impact wins, one blocker, one growth item.
Workfied house view