Yorm A.

HBR says senior leaders should stop having so many 1:1s. As a CFO/COO who’s reported to nine CEOs and firm partners, I disagree. The article says executive 1:1s should be limited to quarterly feedback and development. Otherwise, they fragment governance, create silos, and breed secrecy. In my experience, those aren’t meeting problems. They’re a leadership discipline problem. If decisions made in 1:1s don’t reach the wider team, fix your communication rhythm. At the end of each 1:1, agree on what needs to be shared in the next executive team meeting. And if those meetings happen only monthly, shorten them and meet more often. Business moves faster than that. As for secrecy, if trust erodes because senior leaders meet privately, that’s a cultural issue. Mature teams understand that 1:1s and group meetings serve different purposes. Team meetings build team trust. 1:1s build trust between two people - through candid disagreement, shared pressure, and the chance to see how we each react and respond in real time. Both kinds of trust matter. Here’s what I gained from regular 1:1s with my CEOs and partners: -Built trust through open disagreement and shared pressure. -Soundboarded major plans like reorganizing my team or vetting proposals so I didn’t blindside my CEO in executive team meetings. -Shared sensitive issues that didn’t belong in the wider group yet, such as a personnel matter, an audit concern, or a serious financial risk. I valued those meetings and made them easy for my CEOs and firm partners. I always sent draft agendas and recapped action items so we both stayed aligned. Well-run 1:1s don’t fragment governance or breed resentment. They strengthen trust and alignment. I’m curious how other senior leaders approach 1:1s with their CEO or managing partner. — Laurie Tarpey | Executive & Team Coach for Finance & Accounting Leaders

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When I think about the conversations that matter most in the boardroom right now, they all come back to one thing: Talent. Human capital now sits at the center of strategy, culture, and long-term value creation. For boards this shows up as questions like: - Do we have a clear, actionable succession plan for the CEO and key leadership roles? - Are we building a strong, diverse talent bench two layers down? - What is our culture really enabling or getting in the way of? - How are AI and technology reshaping roles? In my view, talent oversight works best when these questions are frequently on the board’s agenda. When boards regularly connect human capital to business outcomes, they are better positioned to manage risk, support leadership, and sustain the culture employees experience every day. How often does your board spend time on talent beyond updates on compensation or headcount metrics?

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In today's highly turbulent times, Brené Brown is reimagining what courageous leadership looks like. In her forthcoming book Strong Ground, Brown draws on her global experience guiding more than 150,000 leaders to reveal how connection, discipline, and accountability—not performative toughness—are the true foundations of sustainable leadership. "When you break in a transformation that things are not working, you need to be very careful about the human response," Brown said on a panel at the Fast Company Innovation Festival. #FCFestival

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FOUNDERS & BOARD DIRECTORS: Give this piece by Pat Hedley & Lucie Claire Vincent, QRD® a read. Very original ideas about how to elevate your roles and involvement to grow and mentor folks while also building out a strong culture. Employees will love it, and so will your bottom line. #biotech #founders #PE #VC #boarddirector

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I love this perspective from Dr. Bill Berman: “You can’t coach a leader in isolation. You have to understand the system they’re part of.” In my coaching, I’ve seen how true this is. A leader’s growth starts with greater self-awareness—and the real impact comes when that growth ripples out to their team, culture, and organization. When you think about your own growth, what around you—team, culture, or organization—has made the biggest difference?

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Bringing teams together is often framed as a structural exercise. New reporting lines. New org charts. New operating models. But integration is rarely just structural. The harder work shows up in the day-to-day: How decisions get made. Who really owns what. How priorities get interpreted when teams see the work from different angles. Until those things become clear, integration tends to feel slower than expected. Not because people resist it. But because they’re still learning how to move forward together.

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As Gen Z and Millennials reshape the workforce, boards face a critical question: how do we modernize perspective without weakening governance?   In my latest article for Directors & Boards, I explore why demographic change alone isn’t enough. Effective board refreshment balances representation with institutional judgment, ensuring directors can think across financial, operational, ethical, and reputational dimensions - especially in times of uncertainty.   Boards that govern effectively today focus on: - Aligning composition with forward-looking strategy - Encouraging disciplined experimentation and structured feedback - Strengthening resilience through trust, relevance, and interdependence   Refreshment isn’t symbolic - it’s strategic. Stagnation, disguised as stability, poses the greater risk.   Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ddH9DJ7N

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Executive teams don't need more content, they need behavioral shift. Group coaching, when structured well, moves beyond insight into collective accountability and execution discipline. For CHROs designing scalable development strategies, this piece outlines what creates sustained value. Explore the framework here: https://lnkd.in/eZHHbPFS #TalentStrategy #LeadershipAlignment #EnterpriseLeadership #HRLeaders #CohortLearning #BusinessExecution

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🔥 DICK'S Sporting Goods: "We have zero-tolerance for acts of racism and discrimination. We have strengthened our processes and invested in leadership development to ensure that every person is treated with respect and dignity." https://lnkd.in/gNKQF-BN

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