Stop Firefighting. Start Leading. Here's the Weekly Cadence That Works.
Most CTOs know this feeling: You're in back-to-back meetings all week, yet you're still blindsided by critical issues. Your team is heads-down shipping features, but somehow you're drifting off roadmap. Everyone's working hard, but you can't shake the feeling that you're misaligned.
The problem isn't effort. It's rhythm.
After working with dozens of engineering leaders, we've found that the best CTOs run a tight, predictable weekly cadence that compresses discovery, surfaces blockers early, and keeps teams aligned—without drowning in meetings.
Here's the exact framework you can steal:
The 4-Meeting Weekly Rhythm
- • Monday: Team Staff Meeting (30–45 min)
- • Tuesday–Thursday: Focused 1:1s (30 min each)
- • Friday: Roadmap Review & Planning (45–60 min)
- • Monthly: Retrospective & Team Health Check (60 min)
That's it. Four meeting types. Everything else is optional.
Let me break down exactly how to run each one.
Monday: Staff Meeting (30–45 min)
Purpose: Start the week aligned. Surface blockers before they become fires.
The Agenda (copy this):
1. Quick Wins (5 min)
What shipped last week? What moved forward?
- • Keep it fast. One sentence per person.
- • Celebrate momentum. Specifics only.
2. Blockers & Escalations (10 min)
Where are people stuck?
- • Surface dependencies. Name names.
- • Capture action items. Assign owners.
Pro Tip: If someone says "no blockers" three weeks in a row, dig deeper. They're either lying or disengaged.
3. This Week's Priorities (10 min)
What's the single most important thing each person is driving forward?
- • One priority per person. Not five.
- • Force alignment. If two people have conflicting priorities, resolve it now.
4. Team Updates & Awareness (5 min)
What does the team need to know?
- • Changes in scope, timeline, or resources.
- • Upcoming hires, departures, or reorgs.
- • Major customer issues or escalations.
The Rule: No surprises. If it's going to impact someone's work, say it here.
Tuesday–Thursday: 1:1s (30 min each)
Purpose: Go deep. Build trust. Surface the stuff people won't say in a group setting.
How to Structure Them:
Their Agenda First (15 min)
Let them drive. What's on their mind?
- • Frustrations with process, tools, or people
- • Career growth and development
- • Feedback on how you're leading
Pro Tip: If they always say "nothing to talk about," ask this: "What's one thing that, if it changed, would make your job 10% easier?"
Your Agenda (10 min)
The things you need to check on:
- • Status on critical projects or initiatives
- • Team dynamics and interpersonal issues
- • Feedback on their work (specific, timely)
Action Items & Next Steps (5 min)
Write them down. Follow up next time.
The Rule: Never cancel 1:1s. They're the most important meetings on your calendar.
Friday: Roadmap Review & Planning (45–60 min)
Purpose: Zoom out. Are we still on track? Do we need to adjust course?
The Agenda:
1. Progress Against Goals (20 min)
Review your quarterly or sprint goals. What's on track? What's at risk?
- • Use metrics. Not feelings.
- • Identify what's slipping before it becomes a crisis.
2. Next Week's Plan (15 min)
What are we committing to? What are we saying no to?
- • Prioritize ruthlessly.
- • Surface dependencies early.
3. Open Discussion (15 min)
What conversations do we need to have that we're not having?
- • Technical debt that's slowing us down
- • Process changes or experiments we should try
- • Team morale and energy levels
The Rule: If you're not course-correcting at least once a month, you're either not paying attention or you're too rigid.
Monthly: Retrospective & Team Health Check (60 min)
Purpose: Step back. What's working? What's not? How are we feeling?
The Agenda:
1. What Went Well (15 min)
Celebrate wins. Reinforce what's working.
2. What Didn't Go Well (15 min)
Surface friction. No blame. Just data.
3. What Should We Change? (15 min)
Pick one or two experiments to try next month.
Pro Tip: Don't try to fix everything at once. Pick the highest-leverage change and commit to it.
4. Team Health Check (15 min)
Ask each person to rate themselves on a scale of 1-10:
- • Energy and engagement
- • Clarity on priorities
- • Sense of progress and momentum
If anyone's below a 7, dig in. What's dragging them down?
Why This Works
This cadence creates three things every high-performing team needs:
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1.
Compression
You surface issues fast. No more waiting weeks to discover a blocker.
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2.
Alignment
Everyone knows what's important. There's no ambiguity about priorities.
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3.
Trust
Your team knows you're paying attention. They know they'll be heard.
And here's the best part: It's only 5-6 hours of meetings per week.
Compare that to the chaos of back-to-back firefighting calls, and this is a bargain.
Want Help Implementing This?
We help CTOs install this cadence and surface the hidden blockers that kill execution. In 48-72 hours, we'll show you:
- • Where your team is actually stuck (not where they say they're stuck)
- • Which meetings are wasting time and which ones matter
- • How to compress discovery so you catch issues before they explode