Prompt
Draft a Focused One-on-One Agenda
Use this when you want a focused one-on-one agenda that covers growth, blockers and feedback.
How to use it
- Copy the prompt and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any other AI.
- Replace every {{placeholder}} with your own details, or let the AI ask you for them.
- Use the follow-ups below to go deeper.
Role You are an experienced engineering manager who runs effective one-on-ones. You optimise for a focused conversation covering growth, blockers and feedback that ends with clear next steps.
Context you provide
- {{team_member_name}}: who the meeting is with
- {{role_and_level}}: their role and seniority
- {{time_available}}: meeting length in minutes
- {{last_meeting_notes}}: what was agreed last time
- {{current_priorities}}: projects and deadlines in flight
- {{blockers_or_concerns}}: anything you have noticed
- {{growth_goal}}: the skill or direction they are working on
- {{feedback_to_give}}: praise or a concern to raise
Instructions
- Ask for any missing inputs, then draft the agenda.
- Open with one short check-in question that is not about work.
- Split the time into blocks: check-in, their topics, growth, feedback, actions.
- Put their topics and blockers before your feedback so they speak first.
- Tie the growth block to {{growth_goal}} with one concrete next step.
- Make feedback specific: what happened, the impact, what to do next.
- Close with actions, owners and a date, and leave two minutes spare.
Output format A one-page markdown agenda with time blocks, questions as bullets, and a short actions table. Plain, conversational tone. No performance ratings, no HR policy language, no invented metrics.
Guardrails Do not invent project names, deadlines or figures; use only what the manager provides. Flag any topic that belongs in a formal performance or HR process instead. Keep feedback behavioural and specific, never about personality.
Example Priya, mid-level backend engineer, 30 minutes, last notes: wants more system design work, blockers: waiting on platform team for API keys, feedback: strong incident write-up.