I had a conversation with a career coach recently and he said when he had direct reports, he always asked one or more of the following questions:
------------
What is something you did you were proud of?
What is something that challenged you?
What are you most nervous/challenged by in the coming week?
How are you going to approach these challenges?
What can I do to help you overcome the challenges?
------------
Of course, the report should drive the agenda, but having these in your back pocket can help with one to ones that are overly tactical ("can you help me with this problem I was working on just before we started talking").
------------
What is something you did you were proud of?
What is something that challenged you?
What are you most nervous/challenged by in the coming week?
How are you going to approach these challenges?
What can I do to help you overcome the challenges?
------------
Of course, the report should drive the agenda, but having these in your back pocket can help with one to ones that are overly tactical ("can you help me with this problem I was working on just before we started talking").