After about a year of running Hampton, my weekly 1:1s all turned into the same thing:
Status updates.
Project updates.
Candidate updates.
Live reviews or problem-solving.
And on my end, a bit of a new feeling that was why are we both here right now.
No one’s fault. It’s just what happens when a meeting that’s supposed to be about teaching or coaching slowly morphs into, “Here’s what I did this week.”
So at the urging of my advisor at the time, I tried something else.
I created something called the GROW Report.
The GROW Report (What It Is)
Every Friday by 10am ET, my direct reports sent me a short email structured like this:
Goals – What you planned to do this week (1–3 things).
Results – What actually happened. Include numbers if they matter.
Obstacles – What slowed you down, blocked you, or needs my help.
What’s Next – Your top priorities for next week.
That’s it. Very straightforward, very simple.
And I gave everyone explicit examples of what “great” looked like. Not “you know it when you see it”, but actual templates, real sample emails from people on the team that were naturally great communicators.
Once expectations are clear, quality goes way up.
Why This Was So Much Better Than Weekly 1:1s
Every Friday afternoon, I’d sit down with a stack of GROW reports.
Yes, I printed them. Still love that tactile experience.
Anyway, I could review them anywhere — desk, couch, coffee shop. No calendar Tetris or last-minute rescheduling, and more important for me, no Zoom fatigue.
And I absolutely loved it.
It was infinitely more enjoyable than the 1:1s I’d started to dread. I could spot patterns. See momentum. Notice who was stuck.
Prep real feedback instead of reacting live.
In retrospect, the irony was that I felt more connected to each persons work, despite getting rid of the ‘live’ face-to-face zoom and subbing in email.
“But What About 1:1s?”
They didn’t disappear.
Anyone could still book time with me whenever they wanted, for coaching, feedback, complicated decisions, whatever. I even gave them a simple template for scheduling those so the meeting had more teeth.
The difference was this:
Status updates went async
Live time became optional and higher-leverage
Way fewer meetings, and way better conversations.
The Bigger Shift: Less Sync, More Sense
Once the GROW reports were in place, the rest followed naturally.
The whole cadence became more async.
Screenshot of our new O/S
The only regularly recurring meetings we had were a monthly all-hands and a bi-weekly with my direct reports.
Everything else was asynch and based on team needs.
Less “everyone show up at the same time” and more “write clearly, think clearly, then talk when it matters.”
And honestly? It made me a better leader.
If your 1:1s have quietly devolved into weekly recitals of Jira tickets… this might be your sign.
Kill the meetings, find a substitute that works better, and print the emails if you’re old school like me.
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