Hierarchy can stop the right people meeting

Related category: § 1-1 meetings.

I’ve observed that hierarchy can stop the right people meeting, if it is overly enforced and utilized. Hierarchy is useful but has many downsides.

One key way that this issue arises, is in § 1-1 meetings.

When 1:1 meetings happen too frequently, for example weekly, and you only generally meet with direct reports, it can force all work to happen through that hierarchical structure. Weekly 1-1s force you to work in unnatural ways.

Whereas, if you were to spread the agenda items of a 1:1 throughout the week, you’d have the opportunity to pull in other people within that person’s team, or across the organization, who could provide valuable contributions.