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I have a team of 13. It's a lot of work. One-on-ones, setting direction, making plans for the coming period, talking and negotiating with stakeholders, scrum ceremonies, quality control, helping people grow, resolving conflicts - it never ends. I enjoy it though.

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There is a religion of weekly 1:1s that preaches a lot of wasted time.

Like all things, if it's done as a cargo-cult activity, then yes it can sap a lot of time for little reward. However, when done well, a 1:1 can be a high-value activity.

I'd agree with you that weekly can sometimes be the wrong cadence; some individuals will find that an encroachment. I set the goal with my reports that they own the 1:1 meeting invite and can set the cadence as they see fit, within some prescribed limits. That has tended to have good results.

I do them bi-weekly, but it still takes up a lot of time. However, if you don't do them, people will feel like they're not being heard and they have no scheduled semi-informal way to communicate with me. So I will never hear their worries or concerns, I don't know what they're struggling with, I won't hear their ideas for improvements, etc.

I think they're super useful, especially in a mostly-remote context.

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