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How to write a team update people can use

Report what you committed to, where your priorities stand, and what you will do next. Give your teammates something they can respond to.

· 2 min read · Accountability

A useful team update answers two questions: Did you do what you said you would? And what will you do next toward your priorities?

Start there. Your teammates need enough context to understand progress and help with obstacles. They don't need a diary of everything that filled your week.

Review the commitments that are due

For each action you said you would complete by now, say whether it is done.

If it is done, add any useful learning or next action. If it isn't, name the blocker. Decide whether you still want to do it, set a new date if so, and identify a separate action that would prevent the same blockage.

Avoid leaving the status at “working on it.” That doesn't tell the team whether the commitment was met or what help is needed.

Update the priorities

State where each priority stands. Then name the next action you will take to move it forward.

Make the action something you control. “Get approval” depends on someone else's decision. “Send the proposal and request a decision by Thursday” describes what you can do.

Make the update easy to respond to

Here's an illustrative example:

  • Priority: Choose a customer support tool this month.
  • Commitment due today: Compare the two shortlisted tools.
  • Status: Not done. I couldn't test the export function because access was missing.
  • Next action: Request test access today and finish the comparison on Friday.
  • Prevent the repeat: Add access checks to the next evaluation plan.
  • Help needed: Confirm who can grant access.

The point isn't the format. It is that another person can see the commitment, the obstacle, and the next step without a long verbal explanation.

Share it where the team prepares

Use a regular cadence that fits the work. Put updates where teammates can read and comment before discussion. Answer their questions in writing when possible.

If a question becomes a decision, write an issue and proposed solution. Keep that decision visible instead of burying it in a status paragraph.

Start with one update this week. Make it clear enough that a teammate can tell what happened, what matters now, and how to help.

Questions that come up

How often should we write updates?

Use a regular cadence that fits the work. The curriculum gives weekly, biweekly, and monthly as options.

What should I write when an action is late?

State that it is not done, explain the blocker, decide whether to recommit, and name an action to prevent the same blockage.

From the curriculum

Adapted from these sources. The examples in this guide are illustrative unless attributed.

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