In their Harvard Business School working paper, âThe Great Training Robbery,â Michael Beer, Derek Schrader, and Magnus FinnstrĂśm wrote that âmost companies are unable to transfer employee learning into change or improved financial performance.â
They also noted that learning often fails to improve organizational performance because people âsoon revert to their old ways of doing things.â
That should get the attention of every senior leader.
Because the issue is not always a lack of investment in leadership and development.
Organizations are:
- investing in training,
- offering leadership content,
- building programs,
- scheduling one-on-ones.
Most leaders would say they are providing opportunities for development.
The real question is not whether leadership development activities or opportunities exist within the organization.
The real question is this:
Is anyone actually developing?
L&D Programs Are Happening, But Development May Not Be
Most senior leaders would not say they are ignoring people development.
In fact, many would say the opposite.
They have programs.
They have check-ins.
They have events.
They have one-on-ones.
And this is where the conversation needs to shift.
Because development does not happen in programs, events, or classroom settings.
It happens in the day-to-day flow of work between a leader and their people, in effective one-on-one interactions.
Many leaders would also tell us they are already having one-on-ones.
But there is a difference between having a one-on-one and having an effective one-on-one.
An effective one-on-one:
- creates an environment for development,
- not just a calendar block.
A meeting can happen every week and still never get below the surface. It can cover tasks, deadlines, KPIs, priorities, and project updates and still never create the kind of clarity, feedback, awareness, or trust that actually helps a person grow and develop.
The Power of a Really Good One-On-One
In a recent episode of The Peopleâs Playbook podcast, Bob Borcherdt named the issue.
He said there is a lot of research coming out on âhow powerful really good one-on-ones can be.â
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He went on to say that effective one-on-ones are where leaders create a âculture of development,â and that these interactions can become âthe catalyst for catapulting organizations forward.â
But then he made an important distinction.
Bob said most leaders, even when they are having one-on-ones, keep them:
- âvery transactional in nature,â
- ânot very developmental,â
- and ânot very relational.â
And that is the problem.
The one-on-ones are happening.
But they are not creating developmental environments.
Transactional Conversations Are Necessary. Theyâre Just Not Enough.
Transactional one-on-ones matter.
People need to know:
- what is being done,
- who owns it,
- when it needs to be completed,
- and how success will be measured.
In our book Leading to the Oneâ˘, we describe transactional interactions as focused on the work:
- what we are doing,
- how we are getting it done,
- when it needs to be completed,
- and who is responsible.
But when every one-on-one stays transactional, the leader may be managing the work without developing the person.
That is where the opportunity is missed.
Because people are not just their KPIs.
They have design.
They have capacity.
They have motivations.
They have frustrations.
They have blind spots.
They have strengths.
They have potential.
And if the leader never creates space to understand those things, the one-on-one becomes just another meeting instead of a meaningful driver of success for both the leader and the team member.
A More Intentional Approach
In the Podcast, when Jason asked Bob whether leaders should use a set agenda for one-on-ones, Bob did not give a one-size-fits-all answer.
He said, âI think theyâre all different.â
- Some people need an agenda ahead of time.
- Some people need time to prepare, reflect, and process.
- Others can create the agenda quickly at the beginning of the conversation.
Then Bob a more intentional apporach by starting with a different question:
âWhat kind of one-on-one are we going to have right now?â
That question changes everything.
The focus is not on checkin our one-on-one meeting off of our list.
The more intentional approach is:
Understanding the type of interaction we need to have.
- Transactional, focused on the work?
- Relational, focused on the relationship?
- Developmental, focused on development?
- Or did we simply fill thirty minutes?
L-21⢠Interactions Are More Than One-on-Ones
In Clarity Based Leadershipâ˘, we call these L-21⢠Interactions
short for Leading to the One⢠Interactions.
And that distinction matters.
L-21⢠Interactions are much more than one-on-one meetings. They recognize that:
- each person is unique,
- each supervisorâemployee relationship is different,
- and the leader must learn to lead each person individually.
These interactions are:
- intentional,
- focused in purpose,
- well-defined,
- and two-way.
Whether a leader is gaining awareness, setting and receiving mutual expectations, or giving and receiving developmental feedback, the system only works if the interaction goes both directions.
A one-on-one is a meeting.
An L-21⢠Interaction is at the core of a Leadership System that cultivates environments where people are engaged, developed, and fulfilled.
A meeting checks in.
A system creates clarity.
A meeting reviews work.
A system creates a developmental environment.
A meeting can become a calendar habit.
A system becomes the way leaders lead.
Why Having a Leadership System Matters
Near the end of the podcast, Bob made a key point.
He said development âhas to be about systems and not content.â
He explained that one-on-ones, The Clarity Modelâ˘, and Development by Design⢠are systems because they are designed to be repeated until they become habits.
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That is the shift.
The goal is not more meetings.
The goal is a repeatable leadership system that helps managers:
- create clarity,
- build trust,
- give feedback,
- and develop people in the flow of work.
This is why we created The Clarity Based Leadership⢠System.
It is not another leadership concept to talk about.
It is a system designed to help leaders build cultures of clarity by engaging and developing people in effective one-on-one interactions
impacting performance, productivity, and profitability.
What Changes When Leaders Shift Their Mindsets Around One-on-Ones?
Leaders stop asking only:
Are one-on-ones happening?
They start asking:
- Are these conversations creating clarity?
- Are expectations becoming more specific?
- Is feedback becoming more normal?
- Is the leader understanding the person more deeply?
- Is the team member developing into who they were designed to be?
- Are we accessing more Unused Human Capacity�
That final question is the business issue.
Because if people are meeting regularly but not developing, the organization is still experiencing Unused Human Capacityâ˘, which is impacitng the organizaitons bottom line.
Unused Human Capacityâ˘, One-on-Ones, and the Bottom Line
Unused Human Capacity⢠is the untapped talent, insight, and potential of people who are disengaged and underdeveloped.
In our work, we see this as a hidden drain on the bottom line
one that often has:
- no line item,
- no measurement,
- and no clear system to address it.
One-on-ones are not the answer by themselves.
They are only as powerful as the system behind them.
If they stay transactional, they may help work move forward.
But they will not necessarily help people move forward.
And if people are not moving forward, the organization is still carrying the hidden cost of:
- underdeveloped leaders,
- unclear expectations,
- inconsistent feedback,
- and Unused Human Capacityâ˘.
This is why Leading to the One⢠matters.
The future of leadership will not be built through more meetings.
It will be built through better, more intentional, interactions.
And the leaders who learn to make those interactions transactional, relational, and developmental will be the ones who turn one-on-ones from a calendar event into a catalyst for performance, productivity, and profitability.
For Senior Leaders: Want to Learn More About Clarity Based Leadership�
If your organization is having one-on-ones, but you are not sure those interactions are creating clarity, development, and measurable movement, it may be time to look deeper.
Clarity Based Leadership⢠helps leaders build a repeatable system for creating clarity, engaging people, and developing leaders at all levels.
Schedule a call to learn how Clarity Based Leadership⢠can help your organization access Unused Human Capacity⢠and improve performance, productivity, and profitability.
For CBL Graduates: Three Reflection Questions
You have already been introduced to:
- The Clarity Modelâ˘
- Leading to the Oneâ˘
- Development by Designâ˘
Now the question is whether the system is becoming the way you lead.
Use these three questions to reflect on your current L-21⢠Interactions:
1. Are my one-on-one interactions consistently creating more clarity around awareness, expectations, and feedback?
2. Which type of L-21⢠Interaction do I naturally default to transactional, relational, or developmental and which one do I need to strengthen?
3. Who is one person I lead who may have Unused Human Capacity⢠, and what intentional step do I need to take?
Development does not happen because we know the system.
Development happens when we keep practicing it.
Sources
- Clarity Based Leadershipâ˘
- The L-21 Group
- Bob Borcherdt, The Peopleâs Playbook podcast episode
- Bob Borcherdt, Unused Human Capacity
- Michael Beer, Derek Schrader, and Magnus FinnstrĂśm, Harvard Business School, âThe Great Training Robberyâ
