So you've got a weekly one to one with your manager, but let's be real. It just feels like a status update where you list off what you did that week and call it a day. Here's the thing. Your weekly one to one with your manager is actually the best time to make sure that they see the value that you bring.

But if you're an introvert or just not the look at me type person, self promotion in these meetings can feel. Like a big ask. The good news is you don't have to brag oversell yourself or turn into someone you're not today. I'm going to walk you through exactly how you approach and structure your weekly one to ones with your manager.

So you can subtly self promote in a way that feels natural and actually gets you noticed. And stand out at work. Let's get into it.

So the first thing I want you to do is prepare to really set yourself up for success. And there are two things specifically that I want you to have a think about before you go into your weekly one to one with your manager. The first thing is you want to keep a running log of your wins, and this can just be a document.

Where you put down anything that you've achieved that week, that month, anything that comes to mind where you've made a little bit of a difference, where you achieve something that you were working on, or where you just made a small tweak that had a little bit of an impact. Here are some examples of what those weekly wins look like.

Could look like it could be. I suggested a small tweak to a campaign that ended up making a big difference, or I got a difficult stakeholder on board after weeks of back and forth, or it could be, I answered a tricky question in a meeting that no one else wanted to touch. Now you can tell. Those are not groundbreaking wins and nothing that would be over the top celebrated, but it's something that was meaningful to you and where you made a difference.

And you really want to keep a list of these things so you can subtly weave them into the conversation with your manager and make sure they know about these wins. The second thing I want you to do is to think about what it is that your manager actually cares about. What are the things that they are likely going to ask you in your weekly one to one?

What are their objectives? What is top of mind for you? And once you know these things, you can use them to better structure your one to one the topics that you're going to bring and make sure that the updates that you share with them are actually going to resonate and be relevant to your manager.

So now that you've prepared for your one to one with your list of wins that you could potentially bring up and weave into the conversation and knowing what your manager is likely going to want to hear. From this conversation to now, we're going to look into your one to one in action. How do you structure this conversation in a way that feels like a win win situation, but also ensures that you get to subtly drop your wins, your accomplishments, what you bring to the table and what the value looks like that you bring to the team.

Now, to start off, there are. Three things that I want you to consider. The first thing is you want to set the scene, be really clear on what you're going to bring to this conversation. Secondly, you share your updates that are relevant for your manager. And thirdly, you want to leave with a clear goal. Ask something that could support your development in some way that your manager can actually help you and support you in your development.

So these are the three things that I want you to cover in your weekly one to ones. Starting with setting the scene. This is where you quickly lay out what you want to cover. In this weekly one to one. And this is where you could also ask your manager if they have anything in addition that they want to cover.

So you almost agree on a little list of topics that you want to cover in this meeting. It brings clarity, it sets expectations, and it's just a really neat way to start a conversation with. Now, when it comes to your project updates, you want to be really sure that those are the ones that are going to resonate with your manager and are going to be relevant for them.

You want to be solution oriented. You don't just want to bring problems. You don't just want to put things on the table, but you want to be very clear with the updates that you bring the progress that you've made and any support that you need. from them. Now there's a list of three things that I want you to have in mind as you cover your weekly updates.

The first thing is you want to weave in your wins. The second thing is you want to show that you have big picture vision. And the third thing is you want to ask for clear feedback and advice. So I'm going to go through each of these in a little bit more detail so you can know what to look out for. The first thing is to share your wins and accomplishments, to show your resilience.

And this can easily be done whenever you bring an update that came with a little bit of a challenge, something that you had to overcome in order to achieve your goals. A certain result. This is how you show that you can easily move through things that are uncomfortable at work. It shows resilience. It allows you to drop a little bit of a wind and say, look, this is a project that was thrown a huge curve ball this week, but we looked at it.

We reprioritized, we shifted a couple of things and we ended up with a result that actually keeps us. Again, this is something that shows how you approach situations, how you have managed it, how you worked and collaborated with others to make it happen. It's a little bit of a win for you, but it underpins the value that you bring to the team, to the project.

And to your manager at the end of the day. The second thing I want you to think about is big picture vision. And this is also something that you should be doing when you update your boss on your current projects, on what's happening behind the scenes. You want to make sure that you demonstrate, you know, the top line objectives of the business, of the organization that you work in, and you can tie your projects.

In with these bigger objectives and say, look, I know that we're currently really trying to move the needle with X. So what I've tried to do is to bring a little bit of a test and learn into my project that could potentially move us closer and help drive the right insights to support this. It shows that you're well aware of where the organization is headed, where things are going, and it shows how you are thinking about in your scope of work.

Thinking about moving the needle in that direction. And it also shows that you think beyond your current role and think how you can make a bigger impact. And again, this is something that is really going to resonate with your manager because that will be something that is important to them to not only for you to do your job, but also think about how you can work towards bigger company or organizational goals and objectives.

Now, the third thing I want you to keep in mind when it comes to bringing updates and letting your boss know what's important right now is to ask for feedback and advice. This is what's going to make your one to one feel really genuine and create. A win win situation because your manager is there to help you, but more often than not, they are not in the details of your day to day work, so letting them know how they can help support you is actually something that is really nice of you to do and helps them help you.

And instead of just asking for general feedback every once in a while and say, look, do you have any feedback for me? Can I do everything, anything differently? It is so much better to take little nuggets of feedback that you seek into your weekly one to ones and ask your manager, look, I am encountering this challenge on this project.

What can I do differently to approach this situation or this challenge? Or it could be a challenge that you have with a stakeholder and say, look, I've tried to get them on board for weeks and weeks and weeks, and I'm failing time and time again. Do you know this person? Have you worked with them before?

Do you know, or do you have any advice on how I could approach this conversation? What insights, what data I could bring to get them on board with this project? And this. Kind of lets your manager, , answer and give their perspective and share some of their experiences with me, which makes them feel valued, which makes them feel appreciated.

And again, just builds that genuine relationship. Between you two, and it's often something that really helps elevate the conversation from a weekly blah, one to one status update to something that becomes more of a development relationship and more of a mentoring, sparing, and eye to eye conversation.

This also leads me into the third part of the conversation. And this is where you ask your manager for support. This could be support in your development. It could be support in something that you really need from a next move perspective. But it's really to end with a casual yet clear conversation. Ask your manager doesn't always know how they can help you, how they can advocate for you.

What are the kinds of opportunities that you are looking for? So by making it super obvious in your weekly one to ones, you can ensure that it is front and center for them. This could be something like, I would love to keep growing in this area. Is there anything I can take on to develop that skill? Is there any project that I could be exposed to?

Is there anything that's going to come up in the future that could help me grow in that direction? And by mentioning things like this on a more regular basis, it ensures that your manager knows and that your manager is equipped when opportunities come up. And when these things are being discussed, they can help throw your head in the ring and make sure that these opportunities go your way when they arise.

Now it's your turn. Take five minutes to prepare your next weekly one to one. And here's a little checklist for you. Number one, Is open that document, jot down your weekly wins, make sure you capture everything that feels like a little win, a small achievement, something where you've moved the needle. It doesn't have to be for anyone else.

It's just your personal list of wins that you could potentially bring in to your one to one. The second thing is you want to make a list of your status updates that you need to bring to your manager in that particular week. Make sure that it's only what's relevant to them. The third thing is you want to look at these status updates and run them through these filters.

Which of these showed resilience? Which of these can I use to weave in a little win that I had in this week? Secondly, which of these showed big picture thinking? And thirdly, where can I ask for specific advice and feedback to make it genuine, to create? That win win situation. And then the final thing is how can I lean into my manager for support?

What is one little thing that I can ask for that'll help my development, that'll help my growth. Now you're all set to Conquer your next weekly one to one with your manager. I hope that this feels like something you can easily apply. You have your checklist ready for you next time. And then you can easily weave in subtle ways to self promote, to make sure your wins are being seen and to have your manager walk away thinking, wow, that person has their shit together.

They know what they want. I know how to help them now. And this was actually. A really nice experience. Now, don't we all want more experiences like that with our managers and in our weekly one to ones? I hope so. So if you know somebody who could benefit from this too, please share it with them and then hit subscribe if you want more low key ways to stand out at work without having to extrovert or pretending to be anything or anyone that you're not.

Thank you for tuning in and I'll see you next time.