One-on-one meetings are great for helping your team grow. Here's a quick way to structure these sessions around hard skills, soft skills, and personal goals.

1. Hard Skills: Building Technical Strength

Start by asking your mentee to list as many technical skills as they can think of.
Then, help them pick 3 to 6 skills they want to focus on—ones that are a challenge and stretch their abilities.

Next, draw a circle with 5 rings.
Have them plot where they are now and where they want to be (1 = “I'm new at this,” 5 = “I could teach it”).

From that, choose one hard skill to work on and set some OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). Check in every two weeks to track progress.

2. Soft Skills: Growing Interpersonal Skills

Do the same for soft skills—things like communication, leadership, and time management.
Have them choose 3 to 6 areas they want to improve and plot where they are on the circle.

Pick one soft skill to focus on, set OKRs, and review progress regularly.

3. Personal Goals: Supporting the Whole Person

Finally, ask your mentee to list personal goals, whether related to work-life balance, health, or hobbies.
Have them pick a few to focus on and plot their progress using the same circle approach.

Choose one personal goal to work on, set some small goals, and check in every two weeks.

Keep It Simple

This method gives structure to one-on-one meetings without overcomplicating things. Focus on progress, revisit goals often, and adjust as needed. It's all about continuous improvement!