Coaching and 1:1s

One-on-one meetings (1:1s) are the most important tool for coaching and exchanging feedback at Nebulab. These are recurring meetings that allow you and your manager to zoom out from the day-to-day and talk about your journey at Nebulab from a more strategic perspective.

Together with your manager, you are responsible for deciding the frequency and duration of your 1:1s (the standard is 30 minutes every two weeks, but see what works for you!) and for making time in your schedule to run them consistently.

Building a 1:1 agenda

1:1s are no different from any other meeting, and they should follow the rules of effective meetings: we strongly encourage having a recurring agenda for your 1:1s. This will ensure you make the best use of that time.

Your manager will suggest an initial template, but you should keep in mind that building the agenda is a shared effort. You should be contributing to it just as much as they are, if not more!

Typically, 1:1 agendas allow you to:

• talk about your journey and well-being at Nebulab,
• develop and follow a personal learning plan,
• exchange feedback with your manager,
• stay in the loop about what's going on in the the rest of the company and
• have performance- and compensation-related discussions.

You should also include time for chit-chat and for getting to know each other—this will help the two of you develop trust and connection, and have more and more meaningful conversations over time.

Preparing for a 1:1

You're encouraged to add points to your upcoming 1:1 as things happen and thoughts come to mind, so that you don't forget about anything.

You should still take 10-15 minutes before each 1:1 to reflect on what happened since the last meeting, and make sure the agenda contains everything you want to discuss. Here are some of the questions you can ask yourself to prepare for a 1:1:

• How have you been feeling lately at work?
• Are there any aspects of Nebulab that you'd like to learn more about?
• Do you feel like your learning journey is headed in the right direction?
• Do you understand what goals your manager wants the team working towards and your role within that strategy?
• How can you educate your manager on what you are working on?
• Do you need any guidance on solving a technical/people problem?
• Are there any areas where you'd like to receive more feedback?

Following up after the 1:1

During the 1:1, your manager will take notes on what you discuss and what you commit to, so that you can review your progress in the following 1:1. This creates a sense of accountability and ensures no stone is left unturned. You will get the meeting minutes via email or Slack, so that you can reference them later.

If any action items have been assigned to you, make sure to follow up on them within the designated timeline. It's okay if work gets in the way and you can't complete a task, but you should let your manager know in advance so you can adjust the deadline accordingly.

Following up consistently on your 1:1s will allow you to really make the best of your time at Nebulab, and will sometimes be critical for your career progression here (e.g., in the case of matrix evaluations).