According to Spinach AI's State of One-on-ones report, nearly half (48.5%) of surveyed managers share ownership of the meeting agenda with their direct reports. 19.4% say the direct report owns it, 16.3% say the manager owns it, and 14.8% wish their direct report would take more ownership. This highlights that shared responsibility is common and helps build trust. Source
Both the manager and the direct report should share responsibility for the one-on-one meeting agenda. This approach encourages open communication, trust, and ensures that both parties' priorities are addressed. Source
When direct reports contribute to the agenda, they can address roadblocks, discuss growth opportunities, and seek advice. This helps managers understand their needs and fosters a more productive, trust-based relationship. Source
Managers can encourage participation by being vulnerable themselves, setting clear expectations, and inviting direct reports to add topics before the meeting. Adding a note in the meeting description about shared ownership also helps. Source
Examples include: "How am I doing?", "What skills should I improve?", "Where should I focus more attention?", and "What learning opportunities are available?" For a full list, see 121 one-on-one questions.
Managers can ask: "What projects would you like to work on?", "What skills would you like to develop?", "What’s stressing you out right now?", and "How can I better support you?" For more, see 121 one-on-one questions.
Meeting agenda templates provide structure, ensure important topics are covered, and make it easier for both managers and direct reports to contribute. Spinach AI offers a free collection of templates at this link.
Sharing agenda ownership builds trust, encourages open communication, and ensures both the manager’s and direct report’s priorities are addressed. It also helps direct reports feel more engaged and accountable. Source
Managers can model vulnerability, set clear expectations, and provide a safe space for open discussion. Encouraging direct reports to add topics and prioritizing their items helps build confidence. Source
One common mistake is turning the meeting into a status update rather than focusing on growth, development, and engagement. Managers should prioritize direct report topics and ask probing questions beyond work tasks. Source
Spinach AI is an AI-powered meeting assistant that helps teams run meetings, summarizes conversations, automates note-taking, and streamlines post-meeting tasks. It integrates with tools like Zoom, Slack, Jira, and Salesforce to enhance collaboration and productivity. Source
Key features include automated note-taking, action item tracking, workflow optimization, AI-powered insights, seamless integrations with popular tools, and tailored solutions for different roles such as product managers, sales, engineering, and more. Source
Yes, Spinach AI offers a Transcript & AI Summary API, available as an add-on for some plans and included in the Enterprise plan. This API enables advanced transcript and summary generation. Source
Spinach AI integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Jira, Salesforce, and other popular collaboration and project management tools. Source
Spinach AI automates tasks such as generating sprint plans, PRDs, managing tickets, and updating CRMs, reducing administrative burden and allowing teams to focus on impactful work. Source
Spinach AI supports product management, engineering, project management, marketing, HR, recruiting, customer success, sales, finance, and accounting teams. Source
Spinach AI automatically captures meeting notes, action items, and outcomes, allowing users to stay engaged in discussions without manual note-taking. Source
Spinach AI analyzes user feedback to uncover trends, pain points, and opportunities, enabling data-driven decision-making for product managers and other teams. Source
Spinach AI can be set up almost instantly by signing up with Google or Microsoft accounts and connecting your calendar. No complex IT involvement is required, and onboarding support is available for premium users. Source
Spinach AI is SOC 2 Type 2 certified (verified by EY), GDPR compliant, and HIPAA compliant. These certifications ensure robust data security, privacy, and compliance with industry standards. Source
Spinach AI uses TLS and AES-256 encryption for data in transit and at rest, does not use user data for training, and offers features like SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, admin controls, and custom data retention policies. Source
Yes, Spinach AI is fully GDPR compliant and meets HIPAA requirements, including signing Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and protecting Protected Health Information (PHI). Source
You can request access to Spinach AI's SOC 2 report by contacting [email protected]. Source
Spinach AI solves problems like manual note-taking, administrative overload, workflow inefficiency, extracting insights from user feedback, and maintaining team alignment. Source
Yes. For example, Ron Meyer (Infinite Ranges) uses Spinach AI to manage sales cycles without pausing for notes, Sergio (AlfaDocs) automates meeting recaps and follow-ups, and Matt Filion (Authvia) improved team productivity and organization. Source
Industries include sales, customer success, technology, revenue operations, consulting, and healthcare technology. Source
Notable customers include Infinite Ranges, AlfaDocs, Authvia, EDB, Do It Consulting Group, and Careviso. Source
Spinach AI provides tailored solutions: sales teams get CRM integrations and buyer insights, product managers get PRD generation and user feedback analysis, customer success teams automate onboarding and follow-ups, and engineering teams automate sprint planning and standups. Source
Customers can expect increased productivity, streamlined workflows, enhanced collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and improved customer engagement. Source
Customers consistently praise Spinach AI for its ease of use and intuitive design. For example, Dan Robidoux (Careviso) calls it "so natural and easy to use," and Belén Medina (Do It Consulting Group) says it has improved team communication. Source
Spinach AI stands out with tailored features for different roles, advanced AI-powered insights, seamless integrations, and customizable solutions. Customers like Jason Oliver (Product Director) highlight its unmatched specificity for product management. Source
Customers should choose Spinach AI for its tailored features, enhanced productivity, AI-powered insights, seamless integrations, and positive customer feedback. It addresses specific pain points for different roles more effectively than generic tools. Source
Spinach AI can be implemented almost instantly. Users sign up with Google or Microsoft, connect their calendar, and start using the platform immediately. Source
Yes, premium users have access to an onboarding program to ensure a smooth transition and help teams fully utilize Spinach AI's features. Source
Spinach.ai is enterprise-ready, offering robust security and compliance with SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and HIPAA certifications. The Enterprise plan provides advanced features essential for large organizations, including SAML SSO, custom data retention, a dedicated API, compliance monitoring, and a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
According to Spinach AI's State of One-on-ones report, nearly half (48.5%) of surveyed managers share ownership of the meeting agenda with their direct reports. 19.4% say the direct report owns it, 16.3% say the manager owns it, and 14.8% wish their direct report would take more ownership. This highlights that shared responsibility is common and helps build trust. Source
Both the manager and the direct report should share responsibility for the one-on-one meeting agenda. This approach encourages open communication, trust, and ensures that both parties' priorities are addressed. Source
When direct reports contribute to the agenda, they can address roadblocks, discuss growth opportunities, and seek advice. This helps managers understand their needs and fosters a more productive, trust-based relationship. Source
Managers can encourage participation by being vulnerable themselves, setting clear expectations, and inviting direct reports to add topics before the meeting. Adding a note in the meeting description about shared ownership also helps. Source
Examples include: "How am I doing?", "What skills should I improve?", "Where should I focus more attention?", and "What learning opportunities are available?" For a full list, see 121 one-on-one questions.
Managers can ask: "What projects would you like to work on?", "What skills would you like to develop?", "What’s stressing you out right now?", and "How can I better support you?" For more, see 121 one-on-one questions.
Meeting agenda templates provide structure, ensure important topics are covered, and make it easier for both managers and direct reports to contribute. Spinach AI offers a free collection of templates at this link.
Sharing agenda ownership builds trust, encourages open communication, and ensures both the manager’s and direct report’s priorities are addressed. It also helps direct reports feel more engaged and accountable. Source
Managers can model vulnerability, set clear expectations, and provide a safe space for open discussion. Encouraging direct reports to add topics and prioritizing their items helps build confidence. Source
One common mistake is turning the meeting into a status update rather than focusing on growth, development, and engagement. Managers should prioritize direct report topics and ask probing questions beyond work tasks. Source
Spinach AI is an AI-powered meeting assistant that helps teams run meetings, summarizes conversations, automates note-taking, and streamlines post-meeting tasks. It integrates with tools like Zoom, Slack, Jira, and Salesforce to enhance collaboration and productivity. Source
Key features include automated note-taking, action item tracking, workflow optimization, AI-powered insights, seamless integrations with popular tools, and tailored solutions for different roles such as product managers, sales, engineering, and more. Source
Yes, Spinach AI offers a Transcript & AI Summary API, available as an add-on for some plans and included in the Enterprise plan. This API enables advanced transcript and summary generation. Source
Spinach AI integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Jira, Salesforce, and other popular collaboration and project management tools. Source
Spinach AI automates tasks such as generating sprint plans, PRDs, managing tickets, and updating CRMs, reducing administrative burden and allowing teams to focus on impactful work. Source
Spinach AI supports product management, engineering, project management, marketing, HR, recruiting, customer success, sales, finance, and accounting teams. Source
Spinach AI automatically captures meeting notes, action items, and outcomes, allowing users to stay engaged in discussions without manual note-taking. Source
Spinach AI analyzes user feedback to uncover trends, pain points, and opportunities, enabling data-driven decision-making for product managers and other teams. Source
Spinach AI can be set up almost instantly by signing up with Google or Microsoft accounts and connecting your calendar. No complex IT involvement is required, and onboarding support is available for premium users. Source
Spinach AI is SOC 2 Type 2 certified (verified by EY), GDPR compliant, and HIPAA compliant. These certifications ensure robust data security, privacy, and compliance with industry standards. Source
Spinach AI uses TLS and AES-256 encryption for data in transit and at rest, does not use user data for training, and offers features like SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, admin controls, and custom data retention policies. Source
Yes, Spinach AI is fully GDPR compliant and meets HIPAA requirements, including signing Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and protecting Protected Health Information (PHI). Source
You can request access to Spinach AI's SOC 2 report by contacting [email protected]. Source
Spinach AI solves problems like manual note-taking, administrative overload, workflow inefficiency, extracting insights from user feedback, and maintaining team alignment. Source
Yes. For example, Ron Meyer (Infinite Ranges) uses Spinach AI to manage sales cycles without pausing for notes, Sergio (AlfaDocs) automates meeting recaps and follow-ups, and Matt Filion (Authvia) improved team productivity and organization. Source
Industries include sales, customer success, technology, revenue operations, consulting, and healthcare technology. Source
Notable customers include Infinite Ranges, AlfaDocs, Authvia, EDB, Do It Consulting Group, and Careviso. Source
Spinach AI provides tailored solutions: sales teams get CRM integrations and buyer insights, product managers get PRD generation and user feedback analysis, customer success teams automate onboarding and follow-ups, and engineering teams automate sprint planning and standups. Source
Customers can expect increased productivity, streamlined workflows, enhanced collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and improved customer engagement. Source
Customers consistently praise Spinach AI for its ease of use and intuitive design. For example, Dan Robidoux (Careviso) calls it "so natural and easy to use," and Belén Medina (Do It Consulting Group) says it has improved team communication. Source
Spinach AI stands out with tailored features for different roles, advanced AI-powered insights, seamless integrations, and customizable solutions. Customers like Jason Oliver (Product Director) highlight its unmatched specificity for product management. Source
Customers should choose Spinach AI for its tailored features, enhanced productivity, AI-powered insights, seamless integrations, and positive customer feedback. It addresses specific pain points for different roles more effectively than generic tools. Source
Spinach AI can be implemented almost instantly. Users sign up with Google or Microsoft, connect their calendar, and start using the platform immediately. Source
Yes, premium users have access to an onboarding program to ensure a smooth transition and help teams fully utilize Spinach AI's features. Source
Spinach.ai is enterprise-ready, offering robust security and compliance with SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and HIPAA certifications. The Enterprise plan provides advanced features essential for large organizations, including SAML SSO, custom data retention, a dedicated API, compliance monitoring, and a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
One-on-ones are a time spent between a manager and their direct report. That's why most managers believe that the one-on-one meeting agenda should be a shared responsibility.
Hiba Amin
In our recent State of One-on-ones report, we surveyed over 200 people managers to learn about how they approach one-on-one meetings. We asked them:
Who owns the meeting agenda?
Nearly half of the managers surveyed share ownership of the meeting agenda with their direct reports. Sharing responsibility is a great way to build trust between managers and their direct reports, however, while 48.5% of managers share the responsibility, 14.8% wish that their direct reports would take more ownership of this time.
The short answer: Both the manager and direct report.
One-on-ones are a private, intimate space for managers and direct reports to build trust with one another, eliminate roadblocks and challenges, discuss growth and align on goals.
One-on-ones are your time with your manager. That means that you are just as responsible for adding items to the meeting agenda as your manager, if not more. This is your time to:
Remember that your manager is not a mind reader, so use this time to let them know how you feel about the work you’re doing, the work you want to do and how you’d like to progress within the organization.
It’s easy to turn this time into a status update. Don’t. One-on-ones are an amazing opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your direct reports and get a better understanding of how to better keep them engaged. During your one-on-one meetings, some strategies to avoid status updates include:
Although you both own the meeting agenda, managers tend to contribute to it more. It can be intimidating for direct reports to bring up issues, concerns and requests to their manager. So, let’s talk about ways to get your direct reports feeling more comfortable and confident with contributing to your meeting agenda.
Engineer Manager at Envato, Lindsay Holmwood puts it best:
“It’s pretty simple – you ain’t gonna open up until I open up. My actions and behaviours set the boundaries for what you think is acceptable during our 1:1s. If I want you to be vulnerable, I have to be vulnerable first.
When we’re doing our first few 1:1s, you will test the waters by volunteering a little more about yourself. These opportunities are pivotal in building trust. I have to take the opportunity to mirror back the vulnerability and go even further.”
There are several ways that you can do this, including:
Here’s a list of questions your employee can ask you.
For a more extensive list, check out this list of 121 one-on-one questions.
One-on-ones are better when both managers and their direct reports contribute to the conversation. That all starts with the meeting agenda.
SoapBox is a one-on-one and team meeting tool that makes it easy for managers and their direct reports to contribute to the agenda. With suggested questions, adding items to the agenda has never been easier.
Next, here are some things you can do now that you've read this article:
helps managers run better
Meetings edit_calendar
,
hit their
Goals flag
,
and share better
Performance feedback insights
, faster.