Appoint Team Leaders
Every team has exactly one leader: the employee who coordinates the group, runs its heartbeat, and is the natural person to talk to first.
TL;DR
Every team has one leader who delegates work, checks the team's board on a recurring schedule, and can open a sprint when a stretch of work is worth naming. In pre-built teams the leader is a pure coordinator with no domain skills of their own. Leadership is assigned automatically today, from the team template or by seniority, with automatic succession if a leader ever leaves.
How It Works
The Leader Coordinates, Members Execute
Only the leader gets a default recurring schedule (Heartbeat). It starts on an hourly check-in right after hire and adjusts automatically as the team settles in. Every time it fires, the leader:
- Checks the team's task board
- Delegates pending work to the right specialist
- Reviews what came back
- Unblocks anyone who is stuck
Other team members do not get their own heartbeat. They activate only when the leader, or you directly, hands them work. This keeps a team's activity centered on one coordinator instead of every member firing off on its own clock.
Talk to the Leader, or Anyone Else
Expand a team in the sidebar and the leader is always listed first, with a crown badge. Click their name to chat with them directly, they gather what you need and delegate to the right specialist. You are never locked into going through them: once a team member exists, you can click any of their names in the sidebar and message them directly too.
Sprints Are Optional
A leader can open a sprint, a named stretch of work with one goal, when there is something worth naming, like a launch or a defined push. It is not automatic and not required. Before opening one, the leader talks it through with you: what the goal is, in your words, and how long it should run. Most weeks a team just works its board in order with no sprint open, and that is a normal way to work. When a sprint is open, tasks created during that stretch belong to it. Closing it is where the leader writes an honest account of what landed and what did not.
Pre-Built vs. Custom Team Leaders
| Pre-Built Team Leader | Custom Team Leader | |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Pure coordinator. No domain skills | Any employee. Can have domain skills |
| What they do | Delegate and coordinate only | Coordinate and optionally do domain work too |
| Schedule | Default recurring Heartbeat | No default schedule unless they are the leader |
| How they are assigned | Automatically, from the team template, the moment you hire | Automatically: whichever member's role is marked "lead," or the longest-tenured member if none is |
What You Can Do
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Talk to the leader | Expand the team in the sidebar and click their name (listed first, with a crown badge) |
| Talk to a specialist directly | Click any other member's name in the sidebar |
| See who is leading a team | Open the team's Members tab or org chart; the leader carries the crown badge |
| Update the team's charter | The leader (or you, through them) updates the team's description, vision, and guidelines |
| Open or close a sprint | Ask the leader when there is a stretch of work worth naming, or to close one out |
How Leadership Is Assigned
You do not set a leader by hand today. It happens automatically:
- Pre-built teams: the leader is set from the team template the moment you hire the team, so you land in their chat immediately.
- Custom teams: whichever member's role is marked as a lead takes the seat; if none is, the longest-tenured member on the team is automatically promoted.
- If a leader is ever removed: the next longest-tenured member on the team takes over automatically, so a team is never left without one.
Manually reassigning the leader from the Members tab is not available in the app right now.
Tips and Tricks
- Talk to the leader first. For pre-built teams, the leader is your main contact. They know who does what and delegate automatically.
- Watch for the crown badge. It is the fastest way to spot who is leading a team, in the sidebar, the Members tab, or the org chart.
- Monitor the leader's task board. The leader creates tasks for the team. Check the team's Tasks tab to see the delegation flow.
- You are not locked in. Once a team is active, message any member directly. The leader keeps coordinating in the background regardless.
- Don't expect a sprint by default. A team working straight off its board with no sprint open is normal, not a sign anything is missing.
Good to Know
- One leader per team. Only one employee can be leader at a time.
- Leader badge. The leader shows a crown badge in member cards, the sidebar, and the org chart.
- Automatic succession. If a leader is removed, the longest-tenured remaining member is promoted so the team always has one.
- Leader updates the charter. The leader is the one who writes the team's charter (description, vision, guidelines); members surface changes to them rather than editing it directly.
- No bottleneck. The leader is the natural first contact, but any member can be messaged directly at any time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I have multiple leaders on one team? A: No. Each team has exactly one leader at a time.
Q: Does the leader do actual domain work? A: In pre-built teams, no. The leader is a pure coordinator who manages and delegates. In custom teams, the leader can have domain skills and do work alongside their coordination role.
Q: What if the leader is busy when I message the team? A: You can talk to any team member directly by clicking their name in the sidebar. The leader keeps running its own recurring check-in in the background regardless.
Q: Can I change the leader myself? A: Not from the app right now. Leadership is assigned automatically, from the team template at hire or by seniority, and there is no manual reassignment control available today.
Q: What happens if the leader leaves the team? A: The longest-tenured remaining member is promoted to leader automatically. There is always a leader on every active team.
Q: Do I have to open a sprint to get work done? A: No. A sprint is optional and only worth opening when there is a specific stretch of work you and the leader would both recognize finishing. Most weeks, the team just works its board in order.