Interviewing: Finding Your People

Written By Claire Bernson

Helia's Perspective:

I’ve worked with hundreds of managers in my career, and Jesse Noonan is probably the BEST I’ve seen.  Seriously.  She’s BRILLIANT.  When I asked her if she would do an article for the Helia Library on her secret sauce for building and leading teams, she was like, “MY ONE-ON-ONE DOC!”

I was so curious. How is a one on one doc the secret to your seriously fabulous management style? I listed out probably 20 questions and challenges managers might face and she just kept saying, ye’, my 1:1 doc solves all of these.  After a few weeks of using it - I wish I knew about and was using this forever ago. It is a seriously powerful tool for driving work forward in partnership - with all of the empathy, support, agency and accountability of the best manager-direct report relationship built right into the doc.

Summary

Management shouldn't feel like choosing between being everyone's friend OR the accountability police. Jesse's one-on-one approach bridges that gap with a simple doc that takes 10 minutes to prep but transforms how your team works together. No more choosing between being liked and being effective!

 

What’s in it for you:

  • You want to be a great manager

  • You’re trying to figure out how to be supportive AND hold folks accountable

  • You want to incorporate giving AND receiving feedback as the norm

 

The Story

Jesse spent the first few years of her supervisory career, like most of us -having wildly ineffective check-ins with staff. She told me, “I would spend 30 whole minutes with someone trying to be nice and supportive. I’d feel good after—without ever actually saying what needed to be said.” She hadn’t had good examples and, like most of us, was figuring it out as she went.

That started to change after she participated in “Results Count” and read, Managing to Change the World. She realized: the problem wasn’t her team. It was that no one was on the same page about expectations, and there wasn’t a shared way to talk about performance. Enter: the “one-on-one-doc”.

It’s simple. It’s structured. And it works. She’s used it with high performers and folks who were struggling across in-person and virtual teams. And, now? “It’s the single most important tool I have as a manager.”

Jesse and her 8-year-old learning about the glory of Cabo all-inclusives

What this Looks Like in Practice

Jesse's approach transforms what can often feel like opposing forces – building trust AND driving results – into a powerful alliance. It's not about being nice OR holding people accountable. It's about doing both.

  • Showing up and being nice were, shockingly(!), not that helpful.  While using a structured document feels like you’re making things harder, it actually creates a dedicated space for celebrations, feedback, and help requests - that everyone comes prepared for!

    "The structure creates safety," she explained. "There’s a 2x2 where we give each other constructive feedback - and when someone knows there's a specific time to say 'This isn't working for me,' they're more likely to bring it up before it becomes a crisis. And I can say, 'You've missed the mark here. Let's talk about it.'"

    What I love about this approach is how it helps with managing across different work styles, backgrounds, or communication preferences. "I didn't always know what someone needed. The doc helped me show up with consistency, which built trust."

  • "I don't have to remember everything!" Jesse laughed. "I can look back over months of notes and see patterns. I can prep for a hard conversation in five minutes because it's all right there."

    The Plus/Delta section becomes a running record of growth. "It's not just about whether someone hit their goals this week," Jesse emphasized. "It's about how they're working. What they're learning. Where they're getting stuck."

    When things aren't working? "The doc has helped me support people at every step of the way  - from onboarding to performance conversations to promotions and expansion. Because we had this rhythm, we had real data to reflect on."

    Jesse shared one insight that resonated deeply: "The tool made me better, not just my team. I was frustrated people weren't doing what I wanted, but I hadn't actually been clear." How many of us can relate to that?

  • "This gives me a real-time pulse on how people are doing. Not just what's on fire. I can see what's bubbling up before it becomes a crisis."

    Jesse told me about a time when three weeks went by without a single deliverable. "Without our one-on-one structure, I probably would've waited until it got really bad. But instead, we just... talked about it. 'Hey, here's the pattern I'm seeing. Let's get real."

    That conversation helped them reset expectations and build a plan together – long before it became a serious issue.

    When does an entire organization adopt this approach? "It creates a culture of feedback that feels supportive, not punitive. Problems get solved faster. Teams align quicker. And people actually grow."

Secret Sauce & Takeaways

  • If there’s one thing you should do, it’s: Make space for a weekly one-on-one and treat it as sacred. Move it if you need to—but don’t skip.

  • Common pitfalls to avoid: People won’t like it at first. The filling-it-out-ahead-of-time part, especially. Stick with it. People resist it at first,” Jesse said. “They don’t want to fill it out. They think it’s performative. But if you ease in—and stay consistent—it starts to click. The trust builds, and it becomes the place where real conversations happen.” And by the end, almost(!) everyone reports that they like it!

    • Month 1 - fill it in live together during the 1:1, get used to the flow

    • Month 2 - the manager starts filling in their portions ahead of time

    • Month 3- the individual completes it 24 hours in advance of every check-in; the manager reviews and adds in before the check-in

  • What makes this work well:

    • It's private! It’s weekly!

    • Performance reviews write themselves.

    • Trust deepens over time (and it's GREAT to move at the speed of trust as my fave adrienne marie brown says!). What starts as awkward becomes the place where people feel safe bringing real challenges. When you consistently show up, people learn they can count on that space and gradually share more deeply.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

  • Am I having weekly check-ins—and actually making space for them?

  • Jesse recommends starting with your direct reports and using it with your manager, too. “Even if no one else in the org does it, it’s still worth it. But if you roll it out org-wide over a quarter or two? Game-changer."

  • Am I better at the relationship part or the accountability part (or both… or neither)? Why?

  • Are my team and I great at feedback? What’s helping—or getting in the way?

 

Want to Try This?

Here are some practical tools to help:

 

About the Library Contributors

Jesse Noonan is one of the best team builders I’ve worked with. I’ve seen firsthand how she raises expectations, deepens trust, and leads teams with the kind of clarity and care that transforms both people and outcomes.

She’s currently the Executive Vice President of Program Success at YouthBuild Global and brings decades of experience leading people, programs, and strategy across sectors. Jesse is known for raising the bar, building trust, and keeping teams (and senior leaders) focused on what really matters.

This article comes from a coffee chat with Jesse in March 2025. We've learned the most from doing and from talking with other doers willing to share their wisdom. We share these stories in the **Helia Library* because we don't need to start from blank pages or do it all alone.*

As always, take what's helpful, leave what's not, and make it your own.

Claire Bernson
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