3 Techniques To Ensure Effective Check-Ins With Your Boss

Between long commutes to the office, sporadic team chats throughout the day, answering a growing number of emails, and balancing a schedule full of meetings, every hour of your workday is invaluable. As a busy professional, time management is crucial to maximizing your workday, but just as important is how effectively your time is being spent on tasks and meetings, particularly during check-ins with your manager.

The overwhelming consensus among workers finds that regular meetings with managers lack preparation and are largely ineffective, as reflected in a 2019 study compiled on the science of meetings. For many, 1-on-1s with their boss are more out of routine than they are seen as useful and rapport-building.

Approach your check-ins differently with your manager with a few small but useful techniques that will maximize your meeting time, prepare yourself and your manager for a more efficient discussion, and help ensure you are on the right track with achieving the team’s goals as well as your own.

Dialing in or walking into a meeting without any talking points or an agenda typically makes for a disorganized discussion that could be better planned and thought out. An agenda is the script for any successful meeting.Set the stage for a more productive check-in with your manager by preparing and sending an agenda in advance.

Sending an agenda ahead of your 1-on-1 can help guide the discussion to make it more effective and time-bound. A well-prepared agenda or even just a few bullet points sent ahead of your check-in prep your manager and set the tone for the discussion.

Beneficial agenda items can include current tasks you are working on, progress on major projects, updates or roadblocks your manager should be aware of, and measurable metrics and key results that reflect your individual impact and contribution. Refocus the discussion and maximize your time by hitting key talking points with a prepared agenda. Send an agenda or talking points a few hours to a day in advance to prepare your manager and help steer the conversation along.

Key Performance Indicators or KPIs are central to evaluating and reflecting performance for any professional. If you are hitting these measurable success markers, make sure you are highlighting your work and how it contributes to your team and company’s overall goals and KPIs in your next check-in.

Reiterating and tracking your progress to the larger goals set by your manager and the company is a great use of time during your regular check-ins. It demonstrates professional development and solidifies your focus on the larger picture. Additionally, reestablishing your work to the company’s KPIs and goals helps avert confusion between you and your manager on where your efforts should be placed, helping you stay on track and ensuring that your work is making the most substantial impact.

Your manager’s feedback and advice are crucial and should be on the docket for every regular check-in. Research conducted from a January 2026 HR survey shows that when feedback is avoided or delayed by managers, high-performing workers are often at risk of burnout or begin to underperform.

It’s beneficial to ask your boss for any feedback regarding your work, current and future tasks, and anything they seek more clarification on. Asking for feedback shows that you are proactively engaged in your own career growth and seeking ways to refine your performance and measure success in your role. Facilitating this conversation also ensures that you receive any support you need on current projects. More importantly, it encourages engagement from your boss in real-time, making them an active participant in the discussion.

Your manager’s guidance can also lead to ongoing conversations around opportunities for growth and career advancement, which can help increase promotion potential. “What guidance can you give regarding my professional development?” “Are there any current or future projects I should prioritize moving forward?” Keeping the lines of communication open with your manager sets the precedent for a better rapport, setting you up for professional success in the long term that your boss won’t be able to overlook.