Great COO–CEO relationships aren’t forged overnight—they’re built through shared experience, reflection, and honest dialogue about how the partnership will work and how the work will get done. 

The four conversations in this Conversation Starter help maintain strong alignment, trust, and communication over time. They are not onetime exercises but ongoing dialogues—when just starting out, years into working together, or while navigating major organizational change. Setting aside dedicated time for these conversations, such as quarterly relationship check-ins, also helps build the muscle to address dynamics and recalibrate in real time.