February 2026 Newsletter
Burning Questions from the C-Suite
From a Right Hand: How Often Should I Meet With My
CEO?
It depends. There is no one-size-fits-all cadence for CEO/Right Hand meetings. Weekly is common when both of you are actively involved in the business. If the CEO is in an oversight role rather than hands-on, I recommend every-other-week or monthly. Check out the Top 3 lists below to troubleshoot your own meeting cadence.
Top 3 Signs That It’s Time to Add More 1:1s:
If CEO and Right Hand are dropping in on each other multiple times a week to resolve issues, you would probably streamline things by scheduling more frequent 1:1s. Formal meetings reduce the need for informal meetings. Turn five hours of interrupt-driven communication into two hours of scheduled communication, and you come out ahead.
When people complain they can’t get a hold of you, it means they need information from you that they don’t already have. The easiest way to shrink the number of calls, texts, instant messages, and emails clogging your inboxes is to be available on a specific schedule. If the Right Hand knows they will always have the CEO’s undivided attention every Monday at 11am, they will start to batch their questions. This will switch communication from reactive to proactive. CEOs: if it feels like they’re chasing you, they probably are. Get caught regularly, and you’ll get chased less.
If your current meetings consistently last long past the scheduled end point, it could be a sign you need to calendar more time with each other. It might also help to separate tactical conversation from strategic. Some CEO/RH pairs meet weekly for coordination and updates, and hold a separate lunch meeting every other week to talk about the big picture. Sometimes you don’t just need more time together–you need more of specific types of time.
Top 3 Signs That It’s Time to Cut Back on 1:1s:
If there’s nothing new to talk about in your 1:1s, you might have the wrong cadence of connection. When the only reason you're meeting is because the calendar called you together, you might want to switch from weekly to every-other-week. Alternatively: rework the purpose and agenda so the time you’ve set aside becomes valuable.
If either of you regularly skips scheduled meetings, arrives late, or leaves early, it might be time to scale back. We attend things that matter to us; we’re sloppy about attendance when we know we can get away with it without significant negative impact. Ask your high school principal if you don’t believe me. It will be more respectful to the other person to meet less often and be diligent about keeping the commitment than if you continually no-show.
The CEO has the same 1:1 cadence with all their direct reports. You almost certainly have too many meetings if everybody is on the same schedule. Some employees need frequent connection and others more intentional separation. And a Right Hand needs more frequent touch-base when you’re starting a new project or making a strategic pivot. CEOs: It really is ok to meet weekly with some employees, bi-weekly or even monthly with others, and to change it up based on the needs of the moment.
Famous Right Hands
Long before the TV show MythBusters became a household name, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman entered their partnership with very different personalities, approaches, and expectations. Jamie, a methodical engineer with a direct and disciplined style, and Adam, a more expressive and spontaneous maker, did not initially operate as public equals. As the show evolved, production decisions and on-screen chemistry positioned them side by side, shaping the dynamic into a partnership. Their contrasting strengths--Jamie’s precision and Adam’s creative energy--became an advantage that defined the program’s long-running success.
What makes their story especially relevant for CEOs and Right Hands is that their effectiveness did not depend on personal friendship. Both men have been open that they were colleagues first and foremost, not social companions outside of work. Even so, they built a durable professional relationship grounded in respect for each other’s expertise and a shared commitment to high standards. They learned how to disagree constructively, divide responsibilities according to strengths, and focus on results rather than ego.
Their partnership offers a clear leadership lesson. Alignment in mission matters more than similarity in temperament. Trust, role clarity, and an understanding of how differences create balance allowed them to perform at a high level for years. For executive teams navigating growth or transition, it is a reminder that successful Right Hand relationships are built on disciplined collaboration in service of a shared goal, not always hangout-ability. And there's another myth busted. . .
Links: A Conversation With Mythbuster’s Adam Savage, Citycongregation
Recommendation - EOS Implementers
Have you worked with a great EOS Implementer? We'd be grateful if you'd reach out with their name and why you like them so we can check them out for ourselves. We get asked for EOS Implementers so often that we're building a list of good implementers that come personally recommended. We'll share the list in a future newsletter so everybody has it. If you are an Implementer and want to be included, you can suggest yourself and tell us any specialty industry or focus you have. (EOS stands for Entrepreneurial Operating System for those of you who wonder.)
The Book
Heather's new book called Winning Together: How CEOs and their Right Hands Build a Relationship that Works is coming this Spring. It's not too late to share your Right Hand stories for the book and get a free copy in return! Please use this calendar link to book a short call with Heather.
Quote
"In a room full of busy leaders, clarity is a form of respect."
-Tina Iaquinta, CEO, Modern Concierge, Leading Leaders: What I Learned as President of EO Toronto
News
Registration is live for Right Hand Relationships: Managing the Risk of Leadership Transition, presented by Heather and Andrea Steinbrenner at the Prairie Family Business Association conference. The session helps owners of family businesses prepare the upcoming generation using our Right Hand Roadmap™. To learn more and register, visit here.
Can We Help?
At Practical PhD, we help companies Get the Right Hand Right so they're ready for top leadership transition in 1–3 years:
Find and hire a Right Hand
Onboard a new Right Hand
Teach an aspiring Right Hand the job
Performance-manage a struggling Right Hand
Create a phased leadership succession plan
Click here to book a free consult.