
I was inspired by Christina Wodtke’s “Design the Team you need to Succeed” to create my own version of the framework, filling-in some of the aspects that I felt were missing in the original version:
A team is a multi-disciplinary group that acts in a coordinated manner, over time, toward a shared goal. It is:
- Bounded — Clear who is — and who is not — on the team
- Stable — Membership is kept intact for some period of time
- Interdependent — Members share accountability for a common purpose
High team performance requires working agreements among team members across 3 key dimensions:
- Goals — Strategy, Initiatives, OKRs — the Why-What-How
- Structures — Roles, processes and governance
- Relationships — group norms, personal and interpersonal dynamics and growth
These working agreements are first defined when the team is formed, and then maintained and iterated upon through 3 operating rhythms: Perform (weekly), Reform (monthly) and Transform (quarterly).

Form Rhythm (kick-off workshop)
Target: establish working agreements needed for high team performance
Objectives:
- Introduce Team Rhythms Framework
- Define team type and purpose
- Establish relationships and share growth areas
- Set group norms
- Delineate roles and decision making process(es)
- Set shared goals for the quarter
Perform Rhythm (weekly)
Target: execute working agreements
Objectives:
- Track performance indicators and confidence around goal completion
- Coordinate actions and make decisions needed to make progress towards goals
- Proactively maintain relationships and address detractors
Reform Rhythm (Monthly)
Target: refine/course-correct working agreements
Objectives:
- Ratify big decisions (directional, rather that ones supporting coordination)
- Gauge current team health and leverage low-hanging fruit opportunities
- Create structured to invest in relationship building
Transform Rhythm (Quarterly)
Target: reflect on working agreements and overhaul / redesign if needed
Objectives:
- Grade goals and set new ones
- Identify foundational team health issues and map to explicit (new) goals
- Provide team members with developmental feedback