You’ve been there. The daily standup starts, and one by one, team members recite their updates in a robotic monotone. ‘Did this yesterday, doing this today, no blockers.’ Check, check, check. But is that all a standup should be?
Daily standups are 15-minute (timeboxed) standup meetings where each member of the team only gets time for a quick status update. As the name states, it is a stand up, which means that the team stands there (preferably in a circle). Each team member answers the following 3 questions:
✔️ What did you do yesterday?
✔️ What will you do today?
✔️ Any blockers?
You can read The Scrum Guide to find out more. In this article, I want to emphasize that there is more to this meeting than just the 3 textbook questions and the structure.
The real value of this meeting lies beyond just reporting tasks. It is a crucial opportunity to foster team cohesion, trust and shared accountability.
I have been in standups where it is a robot style status update meeting. I have also been in standups where everyone loves to share (erm… chat) about company happenings. The best teams are those who have gotten over these hurdles. Don’t get me wrong, every team has these hurdles that need to be crossed. All I would like to say is focus on soft skills as much as the agile manifesto, maybe more.
Beyond the 3 Questions
The daily standup helps the team build bonds and relationship. It is not just a ritual but a space where engineers refine the way they work together. Technical skills can always be learnt but soft skills come from experience.
So, if a standup is more than just a reporting ritual, what does it actually foster?
🗣️ Communication & Clarity
Team members should be encouraged to articulate their updates concisely while ensuring key details are shared. This includes framing blockers in a way that invites solutions rather than just stating problems. Avoid blame!
Standups aren’t just about speaking – they’re also about understanding what others are working on and seeing where efforts align or where help is needed.
If team members feel hesitant to admit challenges or ask for help, the standup loses its purpose. A culture of trust ensures that issues surface early, leading to faster resolutions.
🗣️ Collaboration & Psychological Safety
Beyond updates, standups create a natural space for collaboration. Make the most of the daily interaction by:
- Encouraging peer to peer problem solving first before escalating every blocker.
- Identifying dependencies earlier, so tasks do not stall.
- Creating a culture of accountability, where the team works to deliver the sprint goals rather than just individual tasks.
🗣️ Adaptability to Remote & Hybrid Work
After COVID-19, the work environment has changed. With remote and hybrid teams, daily standups serve an even greater purpose in keeping teams connected. But they also introduce challenges:
- Are people fully engaged, or is the call just a passive listening session?
- Are live calls effectively balanced with asynchronous updates?
- Are updates clear and relevant?
To maintain engagement:
- Use video calls strategically – informing the team in advance and encouraging face to face interactions to build rapport.
- Leverage collaboration tools like Slack, Teams or Jira to enhance transparency. Keep in mind not to overuse though.
- Make space for informal interactions, whether for a quick celebration of the day, coffee chat or quick joke.
Shifting The Team Mindset
A daily standup isn’t just a meeting – it is an opportunity to strengthen how a team works together. By shifting the focus from pure reporting to meaningful interaction, teams can transform their daily stand-ups into a cornerstone of collaboration and success.
I now recommend other teams to start with these meetings. You don’t have to follow Scrum strictly to have a standup. It is just as useful for any Agile team. Which raises interesting questions – what then is Agile? What is Scrum?
Agile is about adaptability, and Scrum is about collaboration. At their core, both rely on people – how they communicate, support each other, and grow together.
✨ How has your team adapted your daily standups to build connection and not just compliance?