Running Effective Weekly Reviews

OKRs only work if you pay attention to them. The weekly review is where strategy meets execution — a regular touchpoint to assess progress, identify blockers, and keep the team aligned.

Why Weekly?

Monthly is too infrequent — problems fester and you lose the ability to course-correct. Daily is too granular for strategic goals. Weekly hits the sweet spot:

  • Early warning system — Spot problems before they're unsolvable
  • Maintains focus — OKRs stay top of mind, not forgotten in a doc
  • Creates accountability — Regular check-ins prevent drift
  • Enables adaptation — Adjust tactics while keeping strategy stable

Before the Meeting

A good review starts with preparation. Before the meeting:

  1. Submit check-ins — Everyone updates their key results in Runsheet before the meeting, not during it.
  2. Review the data — The facilitator reviews all check-ins and identifies patterns.
  3. Flag issues — Note any key results that are off-track or blocked.
Set a calendar reminder for the day before your review meeting to prompt check-in submissions. In Runsheet, check-in reminders can be configured in workspace settings.

Meeting Structure (30-45 minutes)

Keep it tight and focused. Here's a proven format:

1. Quick wins (5 min)

Start positive. What progress happened this week? Celebrate movement, even small wins. This builds momentum.

2. Off-track review (15-20 min)

Focus attention where it matters. For each off-track key result:

  • What's the current status vs target?
  • What's blocking progress?
  • What's the plan to get back on track?
  • Do we need to adjust the target or approach?
Don't spend time on things that are on-track. Trust the green status and focus energy on what needs attention.

3. Blockers and asks (10 min)

Surface dependencies and resource needs. This is where teams can ask for help from leadership or other teams.

4. Next week's focus (5 min)

What are the 1-3 things that will have the biggest impact on our OKRs this week? Leave with clear priorities.

Who Should Attend?

  • Team leads / OKR owners — Required. They're accountable for progress.
  • Individual contributors — Optional, depending on team size and culture.
  • Leadership — For company-level reviews, exec attendance signals importance.
For larger organizations, run team-level reviews first, then roll up to a leadership review. Don't try to cover everything in one mega-meeting.

Async Alternative

Not every team needs a synchronous meeting. For distributed or async-first teams:

  1. Everyone submits check-ins by a deadline (e.g., Friday 5pm)
  2. The team lead writes a summary of overall progress and blockers
  3. The summary is shared in Slack/email for discussion
  4. Only escalate to a meeting if there are complex blockers to resolve

The key is consistent rhythm, not the meeting itself. If async works for your team, do it async.

Common Pitfalls

  • Status theater — Don't let the meeting become performative updates. Focus on what needs discussion.
  • Going too deep — The review surfaces issues; problem-solving happens after, with the right people.
  • Skipping weeks — Consistency matters. Don't let holidays or busy periods break the habit.
  • Not updating before the meeting — If people update during the meeting, you waste everyone's time.
  • Ignoring off-track items — If something is red every week and nobody addresses it, the system is broken.

Using Runsheet for Reviews

Runsheet is designed to make weekly reviews smooth:

  • Check-ins — Quick updates for all key results in one flow
  • Dashboard — See overall progress at a glance
  • Overview — Visualize how objectives align across teams
  • Timeline — See check-in history and progress over time

Related Topics

From Our Blog

Want to dive deeper into weekly review best practices? Check out these articles: