Steal This: My Proven and Tested Framework for 1:1 Meetings

A One-on-One Framework to combat bias and build deep relationships with remote teams

As I’ve been sharing my philosophy on leadership, people have started asking me how I build trust with my teams — especially as a remote leader. My secret is consistent, one-on-one meetings with every single person that I manage. I use a template for everyone. I manage the invitation. I listen. I take notes. Day by day, brick by brick, I build trust with my team by showing up.

A framework for managing power and combating bias

I learned pretty early on that a “come find me” approach to management didn’t work because it relied on psychological safety before I had built it. So I made the switch to using a set 1:1 framework after reading Fierce Conversations. These questions are designed to get us to open up and get real with each other, giving people the space to talk about what they are scared about or how they are blocked. Using the same set of questions with everyone means that everyone regardless of location, level, privilege, or visibility gets the same amount of time and space from me. This takes bias out of my management style. I’m not accidentally supporting one person more than another just because I ran into them in…