Clear the path

Overview

A blocker isn’t just a status, it’s a request for help that often goes unread. People report being stuck and then wait, assuming someone will notice. This preset is the someone: every Wednesday, the open blockers and the most useful thing you could do about each.

What this is for

This preset solves the unblocking-as-a-manager problem. Removing obstacles is one of the highest-leverage things a manager does, and one of the easiest to drop, because blockers don’t escalate themselves. They sit in check-ins, reported once, while the person who’s stuck quietly works around them or waits. By the time it surfaces in a 1:1, days are gone.

The Clear the path preset surfaces them on a schedule. Midweek, it gathers every open blocker across the team and, for each, recommends the single highest-leverage next action and who you’d likely need to pull in: the approval to chase, the decision to make, the person to connect. It’s a manager’s unblock list, written for you, so the help arrives while it still matters.

Who should use this

Hands-on managers who see clearing obstacles as core to the job but lose track of what’s outstanding. You’ll get a standing list of stuck work and a concrete move for each item.

Team leads in fast-moving projects where a blocker left for a week derails the timeline. You’ll catch them midweek instead of at the next retro.

Skip-level and cross-functional leaders with the authority to unstick things their reports can’t. You’ll know exactly where to spend that authority this week.

The prompt

List every open blocker currently reported across the team. For each one, recommend the single most useful next action to clear it and who I would likely need to talk to or escalate to.

How to use

Click here to create a new Echo using this preset. You'll be able to customize the prompt and schedule before it starts generating answers.