＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Recently, we have often heard the term “1-on-1 (one-on-one)” or “1-on-1 meeting. In this issue, we would like to introduce its background and how to utilize it.
１．Dialogue between Supervisors and Subordinates
Traditionally, the “dialogue (interview) between supervisor and subordinate” was generally referred to as a “personnel evaluation interview” prior to conducting a personnel evaluation. I do not think this has changed much today.
Of course, there are also meetings to “investigate the cause and take countermeasures” in the event of problems such as “clerical errors,” “clerical accidents,” or “employee misconduct.
However, usually there were not many opportunities for personal “one-on-one” conversations, unless it was with a boss who was frank and friendly enough to joke around with.
２．What is a “1-on-1 (meeting)”?
A 1-on-1 (meeting) is a casual, spontaneous, one-on-one dialogue between a supervisor and a subordinate. Recently, it has been attracting a great deal of attention as one of the communication methods necessary for organizations.
This is not a formal interview like a “personnel evaluation interview,” nor is it a one-sided reprimand, censure, or petulant remark from the supervisor to the subordinate. It is a conversation to foster a “relationship of trust” between the supervisor and subordinate and to motivate and improve the skills of the subordinate.
It is designed to create what is called “rapport” (mutual trust). Rapport” is a psychological term that refers to a relationship of mutual trust between two people in which they feel that they are on the same page, that they can confide in each other about anything, and that what they say will be fully understood.
（１）Background
What is the background behind the increased interest in 1on1 (meetings)?
①The era known as “VUCA
Volatility
Uncertainty
Complexity
Ambiguity
In today’s chaotic society, with rapid advances in technology and rapid and uncertain market changes, conventional experience and measures are no longer applicable.
So there is an increasing need for supervisors to be taught by their subordinates and to incorporate the sensibilities of young people, rather than just one-way orders, instructions, and pointers from supervisors to subordinates as in the past.
②Declining Workforce and Accelerating Mobility
Japan’s declining population has also led to a marked decline in the working population. In addition, the “seniority system” has already collapsed and “lifetime employment” is now on the verge of collapse.
Younger workers have less hesitation to “change jobs,” and the psychological hurdle has become much lower.
Under these circumstances, companies are faced with the need to retain talented human resources.
③Introduction at famous companies
In Silicon Valley in the U.S., where innovative venture companies and famous corporations gather, 1-on-1 has long been a common practice.
In the past few years, it has been introduced at famous companies such as Yahoo Japan, and is now attracting more attention in Japan as well. Based on the human resource development concept of “unleashing the talents and passions of subordinates,” Yahoo Japan has adopted “1on1,” in which supervisors and subordinates have a discussion of about 30 minutes at least once every other week.
Panasonic has also recently introduced this system.
（２）How to make use of it
Most companies that have introduced this 1-on-1 approach seem to conduct it once a week, or at least once a month. The difference between a 1-on-1 and a regular “interview” is that the 1-on-1 is conducted on a regular basis in a short cycle, even if it is only for a short period of time.
The 1-on-1 session not only helps to absorb the concerns, complaints, requests, and suggestions for improvement from subordinates, but also motivates them and encourages their growth through this process.
By absorbing the latest information and skills from their subordinates, supervisors can also use the information and skills for their own personal growth, management, and operations.
However, I think it is important to note that this 1-on-1 also has the same result as a “useless meeting” if it becomes a rut and becomes just a mandatory, formal meeting.
In this sense, I think it is more important to have them fill out and submit a questionnaire once a month to once every three months, and to have a short, substantive discussion based on their requests, areas for improvement, concerns, and complaints, and to give them proper feedback, rather than to do this frequently.
３．My Personal Experience
In my 47 years as a salaried worker, I have had several one-on-one dialogues between supervisors and subordinates, including a few times when I was asked to listen to them at a bar, but most of them were “personnel evaluation interviews,” and the rest were one-sided “instructions” and “petty comments” from the supervisor that could not be called “dialogue.
When I was a temporary worker, I never had any one-on-one dialogue with my boss. There were many things I wanted to say, such as suggestions for improvement, but I was afraid to say them directly to the boss due to my position as a temporary worker, so I kept silent.
In the relationship between bosses and subordinates in a company, there is no such thing as a “Ishin Denshin(heart-to-heart communication)” or a “nenge misho(communication from the heart without using words),” in which people can understand each other even if they keep silent. Dialogue is essential.
I have only had one exceptional experience in which I skipped over my direct supervisor and spoke directly with a board member. It was before I was 30 years old, when the East and West Headquarters jointly organized an “Overseas Branch Costing Survey Team” and I went on a three-week overseas business trip as a member of the Office Administration Department.
Prior to our departure, a meeting was held in Tokyo between the senior managing director in charge of planning and the seven members of the survey team. The leader of the team was also a young deputy general manager in his 30s. I was surprised to hear that the team would be meeting directly with the senior managing director without the department heads or deputy directors.
At the headquarters in Osaka, such a thing was unthinkable. I believe that the contents of statements, requests, suggestions, etc. were checked through the filter of the deputy director and general manager, and any parts that were deemed inconvenient were deleted. I imagine that at the most, it was only the head of the department, deputy head of the department, and the leader of the group who had an interview with the directors.
In that sense, Osaka was “ultra-conservative” and Tokyo was much more “free and open”. Now that I think about it, I wonder why…
At that time, the executive director in charge of the project told me something that left a deep impression on me as follows.
You seven samurai are like Rinzo Mamiya who explored Sakhalin. No one, including myself, knows the actual situation of the overseas stores. I don’t expect this survey to reveal everything. We just need to get a rough grasp.”
When you go on an overseas business trip, I want you to get the job done quickly and broaden your horizons in a variety of places. When I went on overseas business trips, I finished work in the morning and visited various places in the afternoon.