1 | Welcome To Team Rhythms Month!

Welcome back. This month we're diving into the third and final principle in our leadership of teams series: building team momentum through rhythms.

We've covered creating momentum instead of relief by ensuring everyone is clear on the mission and their part in the mission. We've explored building momentum through culture by designing the environment where your team thrives. Now we're going to tackle something that will consistently elevate momentum over the long haul - and that's building team rhythms.

Here's what I've discovered after working with teams for years: the best teams don't just work hard all the time. They work smart by understanding their natural seasons and leaning into them intentionally.

Most teams live in what I call "constant summer" - always pushing, always in high gear, always trying to maintain peak performance. And what happens? Burnout. Inconsistency. People getting tired of the grind.

But what if there was a better way? What if you could build momentum by working with your natural rhythms instead of against them?

Here's how you do it: Find out when your seasons are.

For example: When is your winter season? The slowest time of year. This is when you rest, reflect, plan, and prepare for what's coming.

When is your spring season? The time of year when things are kicking up but not in full swing yet. This is when you're planting seeds, starting new initiatives, building energy.

When is your summer season? The time of year when you're humming with your normal workload. This is your peak performance season, when you're executing at full capacity.

When is your fall season? The time of year when you can celebrate what you've accomplished, reflect on lessons learned, and reap the harvest of all your labor.

Sports teams live in these rhythms on a mostly annual basis. For you, it might be every six months you go through this rhythm. Some teams I work with have quarterly seasons. The key is to discover when your natural rhythms are and then really lean into these rhythms with your entire team.

My team takes about a minute each week in our staff meeting to look ahead a few months. We know when our push seasons are. We know when our celebrate seasons are. We know when our growth seasons are. We know when our rest seasons are.

And here's what's amazing - when your whole team understands the rhythm, everyone can prepare differently. They can pace themselves. They can get excited about the upcoming push season because they know rest is coming. They can embrace the rest season because they know it's preparing them for the next challenge.

Over the next few weeks, we're going to break this down practically. How do you identify your team's natural seasons? How do you communicate these rhythms to your team? How do you structure your work and your team meetings around these rhythms? And how do you maintain momentum even during the slower seasons?

We'll also talk about how different types of teams - sales teams, creative teams, project-based teams - can adapt these principles to their unique situations.

But here's what I want you to start thinking about right now: What would it look like if your team moved from constant pressure to strategic rhythm? What if instead of everyone always feeling behind, they felt like they were moving with purpose through predictable seasons?

Imagine your team actually looking forward to busy seasons because they're rested and prepared. Imagine them embracing slower seasons because they know it's time to recharge and plan. Imagine the momentum that comes from everyone being in sync with the natural flow of your work.

That's what we're building this month - teams that don't just work hard, but work in rhythm. Teams that sustain momentum over years, not just weeks.

Because here's what I know for sure - the teams that last, the teams that build something significant over time, they're the ones that understand rhythm. They know when to push and when to rest. They know when to execute and when to reflect.

And that rhythm becomes their competitive advantage.

That's all for today. Welcome to Team Rhythms Month!