What it's for
It is for:
- Agreeing on the three to five things that matter most this week.
- Spotting risks and blockers while there's still time to act.
- Saying out loud what's being dropped or delayed.
It is not for:
- Going through every ticket.
- Status updates that could be written.
- Solving problems in depth. Take those offline.
Who should be there
Keep it small. Your direct reports or the leads who own the main projects. If a decision needs someone else, invite them for that item only, or take it offline.
Before the meeting: 10 minutes of prep
Ask each lead to post these before the meeting, in a shared doc or thread:
- Their top three for the week.
- One risk or blocker.
- Anything they need from someone else in the room.
Do your own prep too:
- Look back at last week's list. What got done? What didn't?
- Check for anything that came in over the weekend.
- Note your own top three, and anything you think is missing from theirs.
When everyone posts ahead of time, you spend the meeting talking instead of reading.
The 30-minute agenda
1. Last week: what happened (5 minutes)
Go down last week's list. Done, not done, or dropped. For anything not done, one sentence on why. Don't dig in yet.
2. This week's priorities (10 minutes)
Each lead shares their top three. Look across the whole list and ask:
- Do these add up to what matters most for the team right now?
- Are two people working on things that overlap?
- Is anything important missing?
Agree on the team's top three to five for the week. Each one gets one owner and a date.
3. Risks and blockers (10 minutes)
Go through the risks people posted. For each one:
- Is it real this week, or later?
- Who's going to act on it?
- Do we need to tell anyone outside this room?
This is where a quietly slipping project usually shows up. See signs a project is quietly slipping.
4. What we're not doing (3 minutes)
Name what's being dropped, delayed, or turned down, and write it down. Without this list, the dropped work quietly comes back.
5. Read back (2 minutes)
Read the final list out loud. Priorities, owners, dates, not-doing items. Post it where everyone can see it right after.
Agenda checklist
- Leads posted top three, one risk, one ask before the meeting
- Reviewed last week's list
- Agreed on three to five priorities, each with one owner and a date
- Each risk has an owner and next step
- Wrote down what we're not doing
- Posted the final list within an hour
Phrasing that keeps it moving
When it turns into status: "Let's keep the details async. What's the one thing you need from this group?"
When a topic needs more time: "This needs a proper conversation. Can you two take it right after and post the outcome?"
When there are too many priorities: "If we could only finish three of these, which three?"
When nobody raises a risk: "What's the one thing that would make us late this week?"
When something is being dropped: "We're not doing X this week. Who needs to hear that?"
Template for the posted list
Week of [Date]
Top priorities
1. [Priority], owner: [Name], by: [Day]
2. [Priority], owner: [Name], by: [Day]
3. [Priority], owner: [Name], by: [Day]
Risks
- [Risk], owner: [Name], next step: [Action]
Not doing this week
- [Item], told: [Who]
Last week
- Done: ...
- Not done: ... (why)
Common mistakes
- Too many priorities. Ten priorities means people pick their own. Push for three to five.
- No owners. Put a person's name on each item, not a team.
- No "not doing" list. Without it, the dropped work keeps coming back and pulling people off the priorities.
- Skipping last week. If you never look back, missed items vanish. They come back later as surprises. See how to catch dropped commitments before they blow up.
- Running long. If it often goes past 30 minutes, too much is being solved in the room. Move it offline.
Adjusting it to your team
- Small team: Run it as a 15-minute standup-style version with the same five sections.
- Large org: Have each lead run their own version first, then bring their top three to yours.
- Remote team: Use the shared doc as the meeting. Everyone edits it live.
- Not Monday: Any fixed day works. What matters is that it's the same every week.
FAQ
Why Monday?
It sets the week before work starts piling up. Some teams prefer Friday to plan the next week. Pick one and keep it.
How is this different from a standup?
A standup is daily and about individual work. The priorities review is weekly and about what matters most across the team.
What if priorities change midweek?
They will sometimes. Update the posted list and say what moved. The review is a plan, not a contract.
Should individual engineers attend?
Usually not. Keep it to leads. Share the posted list with the whole team so everyone sees the priorities.
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Sources
No outside sources are cited. This is a practical routine, not research.