Hi there,

The Tuesday update – that always comes on Thursdays or Fridays.

The mid-month report that is supposed to be posted on the 15th – but last time it arrived on the 28th.

The sales numbers overview at the monthly team meeting – but actually you can’t remember the last time you saw the sales numbers?

Everyone is confused. No one knows when to expect anything.

Remote Octopus recommends ensuring consistency in any rituals you set with your team.

Rituals are often set with good intentions. Teams are looking to standardize documentation, increase clarity, and build cross-functional consensus.

It’s easy to say: We’ll review sales numbers at every monthly team meeting! We’ll send a report every Thursday! 

But what happens is that colleagues start to depend on these rituals and build their own processes around them. They are expecting a report on Thursday so they promise a cross-functional deliverable for Friday that leverages the data. So when the Thursday reports start to come on Fridays or Tuesdays, it can cause a trickle down of cross-functional confusion and missed deadlines.

😬 Lack of consistency in established rituals can also cultivate mistrust. Colleagues can start to wonder… Why haven’t we seen sales numbers on every call like we’re supposed to? Are we running out of money?! 

Team rituals end up going the way of new year's resolutions: We set them with good intentions but then we end up forgetting about them by March. 

To increase consistency with your team rituals: Consider creating a list of your rituals in Confluence or Airtable. Include their cadence and which colleague owns the ritual or its deliverable. This list will increase transparency and accountability. 

Take 5 minutes and consider: Which rituals have you promised to your team? Where might you be underdelivering?

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