These templates include guidance to help you clarify, refine, and follow through on real-world management goals. Use them as-is or tailor to your team’s needs.
🧠 When to Use: When your team works with others (e.g. Product, Sales, Ops) and miscommunication is slowing down outcomes.
🎯 Why It Works: Improving collaboration enhances trust, decision speed, and visibility. Shadowing is a simple, low-friction way to build understanding.
🔧 How to Customize: Identify the teams you work with most. Look for recent friction points or delays. Involve those partners in planning to increase buy-in.
🎯 Goal: Increase cross-functional collaboration
📅 Time frame: This quarter
💡 Why: We’ve had misunderstandings with other departments
📈 Progress: Planning 2 shadowing sessions
📝 Notes: Scheduling kickoff with Product this week🧠 When to Use: When 1:1s feel like dry check-ins or status updates — and you want to create more openness, reflection, and alignment.
🎯 Why It Works: The quality of your 1:1s often defines the strength of your leadership. They’re a space for motivation, coaching, and early warning signs.
🔧 How to Customize: Start with a few reflective prompts. Ask: 'What’s one thing you’d change about our 1:1s?' then try small tweaks each week.
🎯 Goal: Improve the quality of 1:1s
📅 Time frame: 30 days
💡 Why: Conversations feel status-heavy and lack trust
📈 Progress: Tried new agenda format once
📝 Notes: Next step: ask for feedback on usefulness🧠 When to Use: Use when your team shows signs of distraction, overload, or missed communication — especially in remote setups.
🎯 Why It Works: Team norms shape focus and energy. Creating simple rituals can drastically reduce noise without major process change.
🔧 How to Customize: Poll the team for communication pain points. Start with one change (e.g., async status updates) and review after 1–2 weeks.
🎯 Goal: Reduce Slack overwhelm for the team
📅 Time frame: 2 weeks
💡 Why: People are missing info and feeling distracted
📈 Progress: Proposed async weekly summary post
📝 Notes: Team seems open — testing next Monday