Another reason why 121s are so powerful dawned on me this morning. And it relates to the Stephen Covey Priority and Time Management Quadrants shown above.
121s almost compel you to focus on quadrant 2 type activities.
Quadrant 1 stuff has to be done almost immediately- it can’t wait for a 121. And who is going to continually bring quadrant 3 and 4 items into play with their manager?
So the existence of 121s more or less forces attention onto the important but not urgent quadrant which is the one where the greatest value tends to be created.
So pay attention to the content of your 121s and see what you can do to bring the focus onto quadrant 2.