How to implement monthly team reviews that don’t suck.

It’s the start of a new month, but most teams will just continue on the daily grind without taking stock of what was planned, shipped, or blocked in the past month.

As a Notion consultant, I’ve helped several teams get up and running with OKRs, and the biggest hurdle is not in the OKRs themselves, but in monthly reviews.

Especially for high-growth startups, plans can change, new hires are join various teams, and priorities shift constantly.

Two-week sprints can focus teams on a shared goal, accelerating what and how projects get done. OKRs give teams an opportunity to think on bigger, quarterly objectives, and what tactics will get them there.

🤔 Why have monthly reviews at all?

Monthly reviews sit right in the middle, and if done well, can energize teams, kickstart stale projects, and realign teams on their shared mission.

Unfortunately, for most teams that have a monthly review process in place, they’re draining, one-sided lectures that regurgitate data back on employees. Often, they fall into the “this could’ve been an email” bucket, and are actually a waste of time.

Not only do monthly reviews not have to suck, they can have the opposite effect. Here are the most common…