Daily standups are supposed to be quick, focused, and energizing. Yet too often they feel like the opposite: drawn-out status updates with little payoff. FastCompany reports that if your team is just going through the motions, it might be time for a reset.

What are standups? They are short and focused team meetings that are commonly held daily where staff members give updates on their work, talk about progress, while enumerating possible obstacles.

The biggest issue is that these meetings tend to drift from their purpose. Instead of aligning the team around shared progress, they become a stage for individual updates, sometimes more about optics than outcomes. There are a few easy ways to fix that.

First, reconsider when you’re meeting. Morning standups aren’t mandatory. If your team does their best work early, let them get to it. A midday or end-of-day check-in might create a more natural pause for reflection or planning, and it’s easier to remember what you actually did.

Second, leave the format behind if it’s not working. You don’t have to go person by person. Try reviewing a shared tracker together, focusing on the work itself, not just who did what. That shift from individuals to items keeps the meeting anchored in progress, not performance.

And finally, managers should try stepping back. When the boss is in the room, it changes the energy. Teams often communicate more openly and efficiently when they’re not performing for leadership.