Your 1:1 meetings keep being canceled
Example situation
Your last two 1:1s were canceled. You need approval for a customer proposal by Thursday, but the next meeting is later.
Our recommendation
Send the decision you need, supporting information, and the deadline; propose another meeting time. The manager must arrange support and resolve recurring scheduling conflicts, including workload or team size when access is insufficient.
If you are the team member
Send now: “I need your approval for the customer proposal by Thursday. My recommendation and the alternatives are in the shared notes. Can we discuss it tomorrow?”
Use an agreed urgent channel if the decision cannot wait for a meeting. You can seek advice from a colleague, but approval still belongs to the person authorized to give it.
If support remains unavailable after you discuss the cancellations, ask your manager how to obtain time-sensitive decisions. If a required decision remains unanswered, use the organization's next escalation process. Include what you tried and when you need the decision.
If you are the manager
Read the team member's outstanding topics and answer anything that cannot wait. If you need to investigate, give a response date that fits their work.
Arrange another time and identify why the meeting was canceled. If recurring conflicts leave too little time for your team, discuss workload or staffing with your manager.
Agree on a recurring 1:1 suited to the person's responsibilities and support needs. Use shared notes to prepare and reserve time for private topics. When they send an early, specific request, act before their deadline and tell them when you decide.
At the next conversation, check whether the outstanding question was resolved in time. Discuss development topics repeatedly postponed by urgent work.
Questions that come up
How long should a one-on-one be?
Adjust the frequency and duration as the person's work changes. If topics repeatedly remain unfinished, extend the meeting or arrange a separate conversation.
Can we replace the meeting with written updates?
Written updates can resolve straightforward questions and prepare a discussion. Agree on when a live conversation is needed, especially for ambiguity, sensitive concerns, and coaching.
The responsibility behind this situation
New Manager Guide Keep regular 1:1s New Employee Guide Own your 1:1sLast Updated: