Agreement Review Moments (ARMs) are a brief, systematic team ritual used to periodically review, reinforce, and sustain the Work Agreements the team created.
ARMs are a regular team practice (often weekly at first) designed to keep Agreements alive, strengthen accountability, and sustain the desired Right-Minded Teamwork (RMT) culture.
ARMs are essential for preventing Agreement Drift, where the principles and behaviors of the Work Agreements are forgotten or slowly allowed to divert the team’s attention. By dedicating a short time (often 1–5 minutes) during a regular team meeting, the team actively engages with their own Agreements.
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Purpose and Practice of ARMs
During an Agreement Review Moment, teammates focus on reinforcing and maintaining their agreements:
- Reflect and Recommit: Teammates reflect on one specific Work Agreement and collectively recommit to living it, ensuring all desired agreed-upon behaviors are understood.
- Share Examples: Teammates share real-world examples of how the agreement is currently being honored (positive reinforcement) or where they may have “missed the mark.”
- Clarify and Modify: Teammates seize the opportunity to edit, clarify, or update the original Work Agreements as needed, ensuring they remain evergreen and relevant to the team’s current work environment.
This process ensures that interlocking accountability remains collaborative, rather than punitive, keeping the team’s desired culture and behaviors top-of-mind.
Sustainable Agreement Strategies
ARMs are part of a broader strategy for sustaining Work Agreements over time:
- Initial Review: A week after creation, the entire team spends 15 to 30 minutes to ensure understanding, make modifications, and recommit.
- 90-Day Review: Teams conduct a more thorough review every 90 days, often coinciding with the Team Operating System’s performance review (specifically, Performance Factor #25, which asks how well the team is living its Agreements).
- Visible Reminders: Agreements are posted in team meeting rooms or visible places to ensure they are easily and frequently seen. Teammates may also include their Agreements in their individual performance reviews.
- Work Agreement Checklist: During reviews, teams use a checklist of questions to ensure the Agreements address critical topics like how to increase trust, how to hold accountability in a safe way, how to dialogue about interpersonal styles, and how to deal with conflicts.
By consistently applying ARMs and these broader strategies, which are in the book, RMT teams ensure their Work Agreements live on, resulting in greater team effectiveness.