The phone rings.
An email notification pops up.
Another meeting is scheduled immediately after this one.
You’re finding it hard to stay focused on what your employee is saying.
You want to give your employee the time and space to discuss how they’re really feeling about working here, but you also need to get a progress report on the project they’ve been working on this week. And didn’t they tell you that they liked working here just last week?
What’s the big deal anyway?
▶ What are Milestone Meetings?
When I talk to leaders about Lead, Listen to and Love Your People (LLL), I always, always recommend adding Milestone Meetings to their leadership schedule as a way to LLL their people. They’re that effective.
Milestone Meetings Definition: Individual meetings initiated by the supervisor, every 2 weeks, with each employee. Meetings are 15 minutes in length – maximum. The leader asks one to two open-ended questions to engage the employee in conversation as a way to “check-in.” Questions are never procedural or operational in nature. These meetings never, ever get canceled.
The goal of milestone meetings is to provide an opportunity for your people to tell you how they really feel about their work, the department, the company, current projects, etc. The leader receives a “temperature” reading from the employee and can actively support their people and to communicate their value.
Leaders who I coach report these meetings to be one of the single most effective ways to know how their people are doing at work. These leaders see more engaged, productive employees, and the leaders themselves feel energized and able to lead their people well.
▶ What Not to Do
Milestone Meetings aren’t without pitfalls. I’ve also received feedback from leaders who become frustrated by Milestone Meetings. They complain that the meetings don’t work, and that they’re adding more meetings to their already busy schedule.
Why does it seem like it works for some leaders but not others?
The answer isn’t a flaw in the Milestone Meetings structure. The answer is in how they are facilitated.
When I dive deeper into their frustrations and ask questions about how these leaders are facilitating their milestone meetings, four common pitfalls emerge.
Leaders who are frustrated by milestone meetings always:
❌ Change the structure (e.g. allow meetings to run over 15 minutes)
❌ Ask operational or procedural questions
❌Get frustrated if they hear information that is “negative” or repetitive
❌ Regularly cancel or reschedule these meetings for “more important” ones
Leaders who love milestone meetings:
✅Keep meetings to exactly 15 minutes. No starting late or going over.
✅Switch up the questions each time so they get new responses each meeting.
(e.g. Employee says they’re happy working here. At the next meeting, the leader asks, “how can we keep you happy here? Let’s look down the road six months from now. What does being happy here look like for you?”)
✅Open to whatever employee shares during the milestone meeting and adapts conversation accordingly.
✅Never cancels or reschedules milestone meetings.
See the difference?
▶The ROI
Yes, leading Milestone Meetings does mean adding more meetings to your schedule, but the ROI is worth it!
Benefits
Increased employee retention – Employees are happier and want to stay because their leaders hear their needs and respond.
Improved employee satisfaction – Employees say they feel heard and are better understood by their supervisors.
Increased communication – Leaders have more opportunities to provide clear guidance and redirection before small issues spiral into fires to put out.
Eliminates surprises – Leaders always know where their employees are at and can either have lots of opportunities to save an employee who is unhappy or recognize when it’s no longer a good fit and can help support their employee exit.
Bottomline: Don’t be afraid of what your employee is going to tell you. Prioritize regular communication and you’ll reap the benefits of a high performing team.
Looking to grow as a leader? Check out our Leadership Coaching services where Anne Laguzza provides one-on-one leadership coaching where leaders drive their learning and achieve lasting results.