Writing
Effective 1-on-1s · a 6-part series
01Psychological safety is whether your team tells you the truthTrust is built in small moments and destroyed by shared confidences, and one phrase opens the door: “just enough to help me help you.”SEP 202602Your team can’t talk to you if you won’t stop talkingFive concrete listening habits for 1-on-1s, from a recovering solver: phone down, two-second pause, one more question, take the note, sit in the silence.SEP 202603Questions that open people up (and questions that shut them down)Four questions worth using in every 1-on-1, and how to raise a hard observation without putting someone on the defensive.OCT 202604You can’t always leave that baggage at the doorEmpathy as a leadership tool: why going first with vulnerability works, and what a manager once did for me that I’ve been paying forward since.OCT 202605Guiding, coaching, delegating: three words managers use wrongThree distinct modes of managing, when each one applies, and the question that keeps the ball rolling forward.OCT 202606Your job is to make the organization see what your people are worthGoal-setting that starts with company priorities, the two categories of accomplishments that win promotion cases, and feedback that points at growth instead of failure.OCT 2026