Template

Cross-team sync template

Two or more teams whose work touches meet briefly to keep hand-offs on track: what each is about to deliver, what each is waiting on, and what changed.

30 minutesFor One or two people from each team involvedAgenda room

Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

What changed since last time5 min
- What has changed in your plans that affects the other team?
What we are about to deliver to you8 min
- What will reach you, and when?
What we are waiting on from you8 min
- What do you need from us, and by when?
Disagreements to settle6 min
- Where do we see it differently, and who decides?
Next sync3 min
- What will we check next time?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Changed. The app team moved its release a week later.

Delivering. The new API to the app team on the 12th.

Waiting on. The app team's screens for the help pages by the 15th.

Settled. Error messages are written by the app team; the API team supplies the codes.

Running it well

Keep a shared list of hand-offs with dates, and update it in the meeting. It is the meeting's only output.
Invite the people doing the work, not only their managers. They know when a date is slipping.
End the meeting when the teams are aligned. A sync that runs its full slot every time is probably doing another meeting's job.

Ways to change it

WrittenA shared hand-off list updated by Monday noon, with a call only if a date moves.

During a joint launchFifteen minutes, three times a week.

When to skip it. When nothing is passing between the teams this week.

Questions

What is a cross-team sync?

A short, regular meeting between teams whose work depends on each other, to coordinate hand-offs, flag changes and settle disagreements.

Who should attend a cross-team sync?

The people actually doing the dependent work, plus a lead from each team who can make decisions.

How often should teams sync?

Weekly is common; more often during a shared launch or crunch, less when little passes between teams.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Budget planning meetingBuild next year's budget: what income you can count on, what each team needs to hit its goals, where the two do not match, and the trade-offs that close the gap.Daily standupFifteen minutes, three questions, everybody once.Weekly team meetingThe numbers, everybody's one priority, and the decisions that cannot wait.All-hands meetingThe whole company in one call: where things stand, what is next, and any question people want to ask.Leadership team meetingThe people who run the company, once a week: the numbers, what is stuck, and the decisions only this group can make.OKR planningThree goals for the quarter, how each one will be measured, and what stops to make room.Project status meetingWhere the project is against the plan, what changed, and the decisions needed to keep it moving.Staff meetingEverybody who works here, once a week or once a month: news, numbers, problems and who is doing what.

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