Fast Company recently published an article about how advancements in AI are making one-on-one meetings irrelevant. For decades, the one-on-one meeting has been essential in the world of management serving as a touchpoint meant to build trust, boost engagement, and coach performance. However, in today’s AI-enhanced and hybrid work environment, the one-on-one is starting to feel more like a drain on productivity than a leadership tool.
One-on-one meetings trace back to the early 20th-century where the Hawthorn Studies showed that individual attention was shown to improve morale and productivity. However, today’s one-on-one meetings are often missing the mark. Organizational psychologist Steven G. Rogelberg warns that many managers are misusing these meetings by dominating the conversation, skipping personal connection, or holding them so frequently that they verge on micromanagement.
Recent research shows that 70% of meetings actively hinder productivity and employees are spending over 20 hours a week in meetings. During the pandemic there was a 20% reduction in average meeting length, but the number of meetings attended by workers increased by 13.5%. Many of these meetings are one-on-ones done out of habit or guilt, not strategy.
Today the world is full of real-time feedback, productivity dashboards, shared documents, and Slack messages. Managers can access performance and engagement metrics at any time and no longer need to wait for a calendared meeting to check in with employees. Tools like Microsoft Copilot and Reclaim.ai now summarize conversations, identify coaching moments, and even suggest follow-ups. AI technologies designed to enhance one-on-ones are now replacing the need for them.
This article isn’t an argument against feedback, coaching, connection, or leadership. It’s an argument against holding one-on-one meetings out of habit and having more intentional check-ins. Leaders should still connect with their teams but should do so with purpose.
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