Automating the "Managerial Loop": How to Prep for High-Impact 1:1s in 5 Minutes

The Most Important Meeting on an EM’s Calendar

The 1:1 is the most important meeting on an engineering manager’s calendar. It is the only time dedicated to coaching, feedback, and career growth.

Yet, for most EMs, the 1:1 is a wasted opportunity. It devolves into a status update.

“What did you work on this week?”
“Any blockers?”
“When will that ticket be done?”

This happens because the manager is unprepared. They haven’t had time to review the engineer’s work, so they use the meeting to gather context instead of provide value.

The Context Tax

To run a great 1:1, an EM needs to:

• Review Jira tickets closed
• Check open pull requests
• Look at code review comments for friction
• Recall the career goals set three months ago

Doing this manually for eight to ten direct reports takes hours. So most managers skip it.

The AI Chief of Staff for Managers

Imagine walking into every 1:1 with a cheat sheet.

NotchUp automates the managerial loop by generating context-specific talking points for your 1:1s.

• The Wins: “Sarah shipped the heavy refactor on the billing service.”
• The Struggles: “This PR was rejected three times; let’s discuss whether the requirements were clear.”
• The Growth: “You wanted to learn Kubernetes; this upcoming project is a perfect fit.”

By automating the “What happened,” you can spend the thirty minutes focusing on “What’s next.”

You stop being a project tracker and start being a leader.

Make every 1:1 count. Automate your management context with NotchUp