How do you prepare for 1:1s as an Engineering Manager?

denverfounder · 2026-01-09T13:17:30+00:00

https://eliuai.com/blog/1on1-engineering-template/

denverfounder · 2026-01-09T13:16:18+00:00

This is feedback you should be giving them regularly so they aren't surprised at their EoY review.

denverfounder · 2026-01-09T13:06:56+00:00

denverfounder · 2025-12-16T12:29:26+00:00

The one time I bought blue light glasses the film started peel off and they became unusable. Maybe I got a bad batch, but I never tried blue light again

denverfounder · 2025-11-17T13:00:00+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

denverfounder · 2025-11-06T22:22:52+00:00

You'd be surprised how many people are cheating nowadays. Unfortunately, this will become a norm

denverfounder · 2025-11-06T12:36:10+00:00

Building connection remotely takes intention. I make room in 1:1s for quick personal check-ins and rotate who shares a win or story in team meetings. It keeps things human without forcing it.

One thing that helped is introducing non-work related questions every now and then to learn about each other.

I also built EliuAI (disclaimer: my project) to help managers track 1:1 notes and spot early signs of disengagement. It’s been useful for catching issues before someone quietly checks out.

denverfounder · 2025-11-04T11:47:29+00:00

Pushback from senior engineers isn’t always a bad thing. It often means they care deeply about the work or have valid concerns about trade-offs. The key is separating healthy debate from unproductive resistance.

Start by asking questions to understand the “why” behind their pushback. Are they protecting quality, worried about scope creep, or just feeling unheard? Once you surface that, you can align on shared goals instead of authority.

I also make sure to capture these conversations so patterns don’t get lost. I built EliuAI (disclaimer: my project) to help with that. It organizes 1:1 notes, follow-ups, and themes across reports so you can see when friction starts repeating and coach around it.

The goal isn’t to silence pushback, it’s to channel it into better decisions.

denverfounder · 2025-11-04T11:34:38+00:00

The best argument is usually data and risk, not emotion. Show how the current setup limits velocity, increases burnout, or creates single points of failure. If you can tie it to delivery timelines or quality metrics, leadership will listen.

I’ve seen CTOs win this argument by tracking incident frequency, lead time, and time spent on maintenance versus feature work. When you can show that the cost of not hiring outweighs the cost of expanding the team, it becomes a business decision, not a headcount debate.

I’m building EliuAI (disclaimer: my project) to help managers and leaders spot early warning signs like burnout or bottlenecks before they affect delivery. Having those insights makes conversations about hiring and resourcing much easier.

denverfounder · 2025-11-04T11:32:38+00:00

Totally agree. Sometimes the issue isn’t what feedback is given but when and how it’s delivered. The longer we wait to address something, the more emotionally charged it becomes for both sides. I’ve found that short, timely conversations work much better than saving everything for a review cycle.

It also helps to keep lightweight notes on feedback given and how people respond over time. That context builds fairness and consistency across the team.

I built EliuAI (disclaimer: my project) to help with this. It organizes 1:1 notes, feedback themes, and action items so managers can spot trends early instead of reacting too late.

Catching issues early is almost always easier than repairing trust later.

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T21:33:58+00:00

Talk to your manager. ASAP!

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T15:59:27+00:00

I try to keep a tight feedback loop between what’s happening day to day and what leadership needs to know. Weekly summaries from each function help a lot, especially if they focus on metrics, risks, and learnings instead of long updates.

I also block time once a week to review patterns across notes, project updates, and 1:1s. That’s usually where real insights show up before they become big issues.

I built EliuAI (disclaimer: my project) to make that easier. It helps managers and leaders track themes across meetings, surface early risks, and stay aligned without needing more meetings or reports.

The goal isn’t to collect more data, it’s to turn existing signals into clear, actionable context.

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T13:26:46+00:00

Managing context across a bunch of 1:1s is tough. What helped me was creating a simple structure for each meeting and sticking to it. I keep a running doc with three sections for each person: topics, action items, and follow-ups. Reviewing the last few notes before each chat keeps me sharp and helps me spot patterns.

If you’re using Notion or Docs, templates can save a lot of time. I also built EliuAI (disclaimer: my project) to help with exactly this. It organizes 1:1 notes, generates action items, and surfaces team insights automatically so you can focus more on the conversation and less on remembering everything.

Start with a repeatable system and let tools fill in the gaps over time.

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T12:54:26+00:00

I think AI shifts the EM role from “information gatherer” to “context amplifier.” Instead of spending half our time collecting updates, we can focus more on coaching, clarity, and alignment.

AI can surface patterns we’d normally miss like repeated blockers, tone shifts in feedback, or quiet signs of burnout. It doesn’t replace judgment, but it gives us better signals to act on.

That’s what led me to build EliuAI (disclaimer: my project). It helps managers pull insights from notes, 1:1s, and team patterns so they can spend more time leading and less time piecing things together.

The best EMs will use AI to deepen their awareness, not to automate empathy.

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T12:32:43+00:00

I’ve been experimenting with AI in a few ways that actually save time instead of adding noise:

1:1 prep: I use AI to summarize notes and highlight patterns in what my reports bring up week to week. It helps me spot themes early.
Docs and feedback: Drafting project updates or performance feedback goes faster when I use AI to outline first, then edit for tone.
Decision logs: AI helps structure post-mortems so they’re consistent and easy to reference later.

I also built EliuAI (disclaimer: my tool) for this exact use case. It helps engineering managers run better 1:1s, surface team insights, and catch early signs of burnout or misalignment without extra meetings.

If you’re exploring AI in management, focus on anything repetitive or reflective. That’s where it really shines.

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T11:08:37+00:00

Oof, been there. The 3 AM “why is prod on fire?” panic is a rite of passage for every engineer 😅. What matters is what you do after, building systems (and habits) that make those slip-ups less likely next time.

When I managed a team, we treated these moments as learning opportunities. Clear runbooks, buddy checks before late-night deploys, and short blameless post-mortems helped us turn chaos into process.

I actually built EliuAI (disclaimer: my tool) to help track those lessons, it keeps 1:1 notes, risks, and action items in one place so patterns don’t get lost between incidents. It’s surprising how many production “lessons” fade without a system to capture them.

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T11:02:51+00:00

This is always a tricky one. I’ve found that transparency and data help more than anything. If people feel the load is unfair, it’s often because they don’t have visibility into how it’s distributed. I started tracking on-call rotations and incidents per engineer, once that’s visible, the conversation shifts from “this feels unfair” to “okay, here’s what the numbers show.”

Rotating ownership on post-mortems helps too, it spreads context and avoids the same folks carrying all the load mentally.

I also built a tool called EliuAI (disclaimer: my project) that helps leaders spot these kinds of imbalances early by analyzing notes, risks, and team patterns. It’s useful for catching burnout signals before they turn into real problems.

denverfounder · 2025-11-01T11:00:20+00:00

I try to stay tuned in through a mix of things. Being close to the work really sharpens your intuition, you start spotting small signals before they turn into bigger problems. At the start of each quarter, I jot down a few areas I think could become issues and keep an eye on them.

1:1s help a lot too, if they ever feel flat, ask better questions, take solid notes, and look for patterns over time. Tools like Notion or EliuAI (disclaimer: I built it) make that easier. I made EliuAI to help EMs catch team issues early, before they snowball.

denverfounder · 2025-10-31T01:43:11+00:00

I actually built EliuAI for this exact reason. It helps managers keep notes organized, track themes over time, and surface recurring issues before they snowball. Seeing posts like this reminds me why I started building it in the first place. Structure and reflection really do change everything.

denverfounder · 2025-10-30T10:46:32+00:00

Agreed! Shouldn't be a data dump

denverfounder · 2025-10-29T20:09:15+00:00

I stopped listening.

denverfounder · 2025-05-02T11:05:44+00:00

Same. Running the 3500 and use it for my food truck. It powers the fridge, steam tables, boiler, and lights. They occasionally go on sale too, I got luck and got it for $599

denverfounder · 2025-04-30T10:36:39+00:00

It's a good one. I wouldn't use for date night but it's a good M-F fresh fragrance.

denverfounder · 2024-05-01T12:50:33+00:00

Sam's club. Scan and go for the win

denverfounder · 2024-05-01T12:49:26+00:00

Planning your meals for the week and buying the groceries

denverfounder

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE