❤️🌲⭐️

I’m not sure where I originally got this from. It’s a tool I first used back in 2012 when I was starting my journey as a manager. After a few years forgotten, I just started using it again.

The heart-tree-star model is simply a way to trigger having a conversation around these areas.

❤️ Heart

The main question I ask here is “what are you loving?” This question is all about identifying what should be kept or what the person wants more of.

After the initial conversation this can change at any time. The icon can be a helpful reminder for folks to check-in with themselves and then have the conversation.

🌲 Tree

The tree represents growth. In the first conversation I like to talk about what growth means to them. For some growth is equivalent to promotion. For others it’s about a specific area they want to master.

What matters most is understanding what it means to them. Some folks will never have thought about how they want to grow. This becomes a tool for them to start thinking about it.

⭐️ Star

The gold star is a throwback to the gold star reward stickers. The way I discuss this one is “how do you like to be appreciated, rewarded, and recognized beyond money?” Of course it’s good to also talk about their financial motivations, but really we all, always want money. As a manager we have varying control over that part (as an aside, I have way more control over that in my current role than I have before).

There’s two real parts I think about in this section. First how do they feel valued for their work. Some like public recognition. Some care about metrics around how much people use what they built. The range is wide and what matters is understanding what helps them feel fulfilled and what their motivators are. The second is checking in on whether they are currently feeling appreciated.

At the last company I worked I had an office and all my 1:1s were in there. I kept these 3 images drawn in the corner of my whiteboard. Then after the initial / scheduled conversations (I like doing intentional refresh check-ins) then the visuals could help folks remember to bring up any changes as things progressed. In my current role my team is spread across the US so I’m adding these in to our 1:1 doc notes.

So there you have it. The ❤️🌲⭐️ method. Would love to hear if you know the real origin of it. Do you have other nice reminders of important conversations?