I have sat in too many 1:1s where everyone felt better walking out and nothing changed two weeks later. No clear gap named. No behavior contract. No follow-through. That is why I believe most managers fail people in one of two ways. They run 1:1s like status meetings, or they run them like friendship maintenance. Both feel safer than coaching, and neither grows people. I am a huge believer in Radical Candor by Kim Scott. It is one of the foundational books in my leadership toolkit because it names something most leaders quietly avoid ... people prefer clarity, even hard clarity, over relational fog. Not cruelty. Clarity. There is a difference. I have gotten this wrong before too. I have leaned too relational in moments where direct coaching was needed, and all I really did was postpone growth conversations that would have helped sooner. When managers avoid mentoring, 1:1s become project check-ins. Tickets, blockers, updates, next steps. Useful operationally. Empty developmentally.…