Mark Rabkin on how to make your 1:1 meetings awesome, by making them awkward:

“Very often, people waste most of the 1:1s potential. You might make a little agenda, and then give some updates, some light feedback, and share some complaints. It’s helpful and valuable and nice. But, ask yourself: is the conversation hard? Are you a little nervous or unsure how to get out what you’re trying to say? Is it awkward?
Because if it’s not a bit awkward, you’re not talking about the real stuff.”

I've always thought I had productive 1:1 meetings, but this post makes me think differently. We were only ever talking about the easy stuff, things that were safe or uncontroversial. No one can achieve their full potential if they're not told honestly about things they can improve on.

Agile retrospectives do a great job of countering the common human desire to avoid confrontation by formalising the time where you're encouraged to give (for want of a better word) negative feedback. Making 1:1s follow a similar pattern is a logical next step in self-improvement, even if it might make things a bit awkward.