Leading Leaders? Shift Your 1:1s from Status to Strategy

When managing managers rather than individual contributors, 1:1s need to shift from status updates to strategic conversations. A four-part template is proposed: starting with bi-directional feedback to normalize it, then a 'people layer' covering team health and edge cases, followed by work/project alignment, and ending with process review. The structure is designed to help leaders develop clarity, surface blind spots, and think strategically about their teams rather than just reporting task completion.