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Your one-on-ones shouldn’t feel like a weekly status treadmill where we do all the talking and our team does all the nodding. Charlotte Ward sits down with Greg Skirving to unpack a deceptively simple leadership shift: the reverse one-on-one, where the direct report leads with their perspective instead of waiting for the manager’s agenda. 

Greg walks us through his practical structure a three-slide monthly check-in covering accomplishments, challenges, and what the person wants to improve next. We talk about why this works especially well in customer support and technical support environments that are drowning in metrics like tickets closed and MTTR, while so much real value goes uncounted: mentoring, onboarding, process fixes, cross-functional help, and customer moments that protect renewals. The goal isn’t more paperwork, it’s clearer thinking, better coaching, and a more honest view of impact. 

We also dig into the change management piece: why the first few rounds can be awkward, how to coach ICs who dislike “talking about themselves,” and how presenting internally becomes a safe way to build communication and confidence that carries into customer calls, incident leadership, and even career moves into pre-sales, implementation, or project roles. By the end, we connect the dots to a simple career advantage: building an ongoing evidence file that makes self-evaluations and promotion conversations easier because the proof is already collected. 

If you want one-on-ones that create growth and not just updates, listen now, then subscribe, share with a fellow support leader, and leave a review. What would you change about your one-on-ones first?

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