Global Teams
How to Run Effective Standups for Global Teams
Rethinking the daily standup when your team can never all be awake at once.
· 5 min read
The classic daily standup assumes everyone is in the room — or at least awake — at the same time. For a globally distributed team, that assumption falls apart. Here is how to keep the benefits without the 6am calls.
Go written and async
Replace the live meeting with a short written update each person posts at the start of their day: what they did, what they will do, and any blockers. Everyone reads at their convenience.
Keep a thin synchronous core
If you value face time, hold a brief live standup only for the sub-team that shares an overlap, and let the wider group rely on the written thread.
Make blockers loud
The one thing that must not wait is a blocker. Flag them clearly so whoever comes online next — in any timezone — can unblock the work and keep it moving around the clock.