Standup may be the most complicated meeting to get right

Have you ever ask wondered whether standup makes any sense at all? This amusing video captures common standup scenarios that many of us can relate to. I must admit that I watched this video more than a few times than I expected because I have seen these behaviors over and over again. After many years of running standups, I discovered that the patterns that the video makes fun of are actually behaviors of underperforming teams that need to be addressed otherwise you will be left asking yourself, day after day, what is the point of these 15 minutes?

Three symptoms of underperforming teams stood out to me that should put you on high alert that we will review in more detail.

1. Scenario 1: Team members that are not prepared for standup

   I once heard a story from a successful construction manager that tells all their sub-contractors that the when the job starts at 9 am it means that by 9 am they are starting work on the project. Sub-contractors that arrive at 9 am to grab their coffee, use the restroom, and get their tools organized to start working at 9:30 am are warned and then let go when the behavior persists. The expectation is to be ready to start at 9 am not get ready to start at 9 am. Big difference. Think about how that can compound over time and impact the timeline of the project.

   What does this have to do with standup? The video opens with a team member’s alarm set to wake them up, get out of bed, and into standup 1 minute before standup. These team members act like the sub-contractors that believe 9 am is the time to get ready for work rather than be ready for work. The team is paying a tax when team members use standup to get ready rather be ready. Many of you may be thinking “what is the big deal?” The difference is marginal. I believe margins can make all the difference. Good and great are often separated by margins. Which side do you want your team to be on? In my experience, great teams are more prepared than those that are not and how they operate in standup is a reflection of their work.

   
   

2. Scenario 2: Ambiguous updates are a sign that progress is moving slower than expected

   Have you heard the saying “the best lies have hints of truth?” Injecting the lie with a bit of truth makes the lie more believable.

   What does this have to do with standup? What if I told you that some of the best sounding updates are a little bit of effort dressed up as a lot of effort? You hear this in the video and it happens in real life too.

   Why does this happen? It should be no surprise that some people do not like working, but like or need the paycheck. These team members are going to attempt to optimize the minimum of work needed to be done in order to collect the paycheck. It’s a smart strategy. Who doesn’t want to get paid a lot for as little effort as possible? These type of people are going to attempt to add fluff to their updates to sound smart and important even though their output does not match their verbose update. Be watchful and don’t fall for the BS.

   On the other hand, the video makes fun of the team member that completed various tasks and calls them “overachiever.” In my opinion, most, if not all updates, should sound like the “overachiever” - clear and concisely detailing the work that was completed.

   
   

3. Scenario 3: Everything is always good typically is code for there are problems we don’t feel comfortable talking about.

   Imagine asking your partner “how was your day?” and day after day you get the same response “Good”. The same bland monotone “good” day after day. After a while you start getting suspicious. You start thinking that this is not normal. You even start getting worried because your experience as a human tells you that each day is different. Some days are better than others and others not so much. You ask yourself, how can every day be just “good?” You know there is more under the surface - you just need them to open up. If you become suspicious with one person, now multiply that by 5 or 10 or however big your team is.

   Teams that typically always respond “good” without exemplary results means that the team has yet to produce an environment that surfaces and encourages what people like to call the “difficult” or “uncomfortable” conversations.

   
   

Standup can be a valuable meeting when the team is held accountable to a high standard of performance and communication otherwise it leaves you mired in a loop of ambiguity while you ask yourself “what is the point of this” after each standup and do it all over again the next day.