Rich Blake

A place to reflect on how I'm learning to live with arthritis, my experience leading high performing teams and everything else in between.

Mastering stand ups

06 December 2025

Stand ups are famous for the simple ‘today and yesterday’ format, done in 15 minutes.

For most teams, that’s it. Time to get on with the day.

But if you’re an agile coach, those 15 minutes matter. A lot. You can shape how people organise themselves, how they ask for help, and how work actually gets done.

Mastery isn’t about repeating a ritual. It’s about judgement. Choosing when to stick with a pattern, when to change it, and how to help the team have the right conversation at the right time.

To make stand ups a habit that people value, you need to help a team:

  • recognise and act on the last responsible moment for a conversation
  • have the right conversation to move work forward
  • make time to give and get help
  • understand the benefit of doing things differently (or even at all)

Flexible, not rigid rules

You and your team should agree what good looks like for you. Keep the agile manifesto in mind when you do this: people and interactions over tools and processes.

Focus less on following a fixed format like ‘today and yesterday’ and more on the behaviours that make your team collaborative and effective.

These are five rules I teach teams when thinking about planning conversations. They apply whether you’re starting the day, responding to new information, or dealing with an incident.

1. Be short and regular

The kinds of conversations you have in stand ups shouldn’t be limited to a scheduled 15-minute slot. They should happen whenever they’re needed.

Stand ups are not meetings, and they are not status reports. Other information radiators should do that job.

Keep conversations short. If you need more than 15 minutes, you probably need a different kind of conversation: a workshop, a structured discussion, or time to write things down.

To help keep conversations effective:

  • people need a shared understanding of different conversation types. For example an OKR review, a give-and-get-help conversation, a simple ‘today and yesterday’, or a Kanban board walk
  • the right people need to be present, otherwise you’ll repeat yourself or make decisions without the people affected
  • everyone needs equal access to the tools they rely on

2. Help people stay focused on what matters now

Keep the conversation relevant and tactical. Notice when it drifts.

Drifting can look like meandering conversations that don’t go anywhere, or people giving the same update over multiple days. You can take action by making observations in the moment. If it keeps happening, give kind, constructive feedback afterwards.

3. Work at the last responsible moment

There’s little value in putting energy into things you don’t need yet. Focus on what matters now and deliver it.

Over time, teams that practise this become more responsive to learning and change.

Think of stand ups as a way for the team to understand its current context and decide what needs to happen next.

4. Make a commitment to help each other

Encourage the team to make commitments, and to gently question them when they’re not upheld. This is healthy behaviour.

Teams should feel able to act if they hear:

  • the same update given several days in a row
  • surprises or :tada: moments 🎊
  • work slipping after a commitment has been made

These things often go unsaid, even when they’re obvious. It can feel awkward to call them out.

In practice, staying quiet usually leads to apathy. Gentle nudges often help people get the support they need, or just simply be heard when they need it.

5. Not ‘run’ by a manager

Teams need to be self-organising. If you feel the need to facilitate a 15-minute conversation every day, you may be teaching the team to rely on you rather than each other.

Make your policies explicit

Whether or not you use Kanban, its rule of making policies explicit applies to any team. This includes being clear about how you work and what “good” looks like.

If you don’t do this, you set people up to fail. New starters are forced to learn through avoidable trial and error, and you risk giving poor feedback based on expectations you never made clear.

Keep policies short, simple, and visible. Update them as the team changes how it works.

Skills that make you effective

As well as contributing to the conversation itself, you’re doing a lot of hidden work.

1. Active listening

Pay close attention to what’s happening in the group, not just what’s being said:

  • body language
  • energy
  • language
  • alignment to goals
  • sense of togetherness
  • physical space
  • eye contact

Ask yourself what it felt like to give or ask for help at that moment. A good stand up leaves people clearer, energised, and ready to deliver.

2. Regularly give feedback and make observations

Observations are best made at the moment. They are specific, neutral descriptions of what you’ve noticed. They act as gentle prompts and don’t need to be acted on.

Feedback is different. It’s based on your perspective and is most useful when something has affected you. Give it directly, and help others do the same.

Some helpful formats

Here are a few stand up formats I’ve seen work well.

1. OKR review

Start by restating your shared objective. Ask what’s changed, what you’re learning, and what obstacles exist. Then decide where the team’s focus needs to be today.

2. Give and get help

Ask people to share what they’re working on and what help they need. Turn offers into agreements.

For example, “I can pair with you” is an offer.

“It looks like we’re both free at 11 — let’s pair then” is an agreement.

3. Today and yesterday

Each person shares what they did yesterday, then makes a clear commitment about what they plan to deliver today, asking or offering help when it is needed.

4. A Kanban board walk

Focus on flow by walking the board together. If your bias is towards delivery, start with work closest to done and look for volunteers to help get it done.