team-health · diff
git:20260324.2d53474 to git:20260326.c5593b4
24 added, 24 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: team-health
- description: "Periodic check on team dynamics, engagement signals, and development trajectory for all direct reports. Surfaces patterns across the team — who might need more challenge, who might need more support, who hasn't had a 1:1 recently. Uses two universal lenses: performance & growth, and wellbeing & connection. Outputs are prompts for reflection, not diagnoses."
+ description: "Periodic check on team dynamics, engagement signals, and development trajectory for all direct reports. Surfaces patterns across the team -- who might need more challenge, who might need more support, who hasn't had a 1:1 recently. Uses two universal lenses: performance & growth, and wellbeing & connection. Outputs are prompts for reflection, not diagnoses."
---
# Team Health Check
> **Two lenses, always.** "Development" asks: is this person growing and performing? "Wellbeing" asks: is this person thriving, connected, and energised? Great managers hold both.
A periodic overview of team dynamics, engagement signals, wellbeing, and development trajectory across all direct reports.
## When to Use
- Weekly or biweekly team health review
- Before calibration or planning meetings
- When the manager says "how's my team doing?", "team health check", "anyone I should check in with?"
- When preparing for skip-level conversations
## Instructions
If any MCP connector is unavailable, follow the connector unavailability protocol in `../../references/operating-principles.md`.
### 1. Load Team Context
Read from `manager-context/`:
- - `manager-profile.md` — full list of direct reports
- - `team/` — individual profiles with goals, projects, last review dates
- - `sources.md` — channels and data locations per team member
+ - `manager-profile.md` -- full list of direct reports
+ - `team/` -- individual profiles with goals, projects, last review dates
+ - `sources.md` -- channels and data locations per team member
If context is missing, note it and work with available sources.
### 2. Scan Per Team Member
For each direct report, gather data from the last 14 days (or since last health check):
**Activity & Engagement (Slack):**
- Message volume in team/project channels (relative to their baseline if known)
- Types of messages: asking questions, answering questions, sharing updates, celebrating, flagging issues
- Channels they're active in
- Any public wins or recognition received
- Any public frustration or repeated blockers
**1:1 Cadence (Calendar):**
- When was their last 1:1 with the manager?
- Were recent 1:1s kept or cancelled?
- Are they overdue for a 1:1?
**Development Goals (Notion/Drive):**
- Last time their goals were updated
- Any progress notes or self-assessments
- Are there development areas with no recent activity?
**Workload Signals (Calendar + Slack):**
- Meeting load (heavy/normal/light for their role)
- - Are they in channels/meetings outside their usual scope? (scope expansion — could be good or concerning)
+ - Are they in channels/meetings outside their usual scope? (scope expansion -- could be good or concerning)
**Wellbeing & Connection Signals (Slack + Calendar):**
- Energy & wellbeing: late-night messages, weekend activity, signs of overwork
- Connection: are they participating in non-work channels (#random, social threads, team celebrations)?
- Celebration: have they been recognised or praised recently? Have they celebrated others?
- - Tone: are their messages upbeat, neutral, or showing signs of frustration/fatigue? (use as a soft signal only — never diagnose)
+ - Tone: are their messages upbeat, neutral, or showing signs of frustration/fatigue? (use as a soft signal only -- never diagnose)
- Fun & enjoyment: any signs of passion, enthusiasm, or joy in their work (shipping excitement, sharing wins, volunteering for things)?
### 3. Synthesise Per Person
For each team member, produce a brief profile covering both lenses:
```
- ### [Name] — [Role]
+ ### [Name] -- [Role]
**🎯 Development & Performance:**
- **Activity:** [Normal / Increased / Decreased] — [1-line evidence]
+ **Activity:** [Normal / Increased / Decreased] -- [1-line evidence]
**Recent wins:** [list any, or "None surfaced"]
- **Goals:** [last updated date] — [current / stale]
- **Development focus:** [area from goals] — [evidence of progress / no visible progress]
- **Growth signals:** [scope expansion, new skills, leadership behaviours — or "None"]
+ **Goals:** [last updated date] -- [current / stale]
+ **Development focus:** [area from goals] -- [evidence of progress / no visible progress]
+ **Growth signals:** [scope expansion, new skills, leadership behaviours -- or "None"]
**🫂 Wellbeing & Connection:**
- **Energy:** [Balanced / High output / Signs of overwork] — [evidence, e.g., "messages after 22:00 on 3 nights"]
+ **Energy:** [Balanced / High output / Signs of overwork] -- [evidence, e.g., "messages after 22:00 on 3 nights"]
**Connection:** [Active in social channels / Quiet / Only work-related activity]
- **Celebrated/been celebrated:** [yes — details / not recently]
- **Tone:** [Positive / Neutral / Worth checking in] — [soft signal only]
+ **Celebrated/been celebrated:** [yes -- details / not recently]
+ **Tone:** [Positive / Neutral / Worth checking in] -- [soft signal only]
- **Last 1:1:** [date] — [on track / overdue]
- **Signals to explore:** [friction, blockers, wellbeing patterns — or "None"]
+ **Last 1:1:** [date] -- [on track / overdue]
+ **Signals to explore:** [friction, blockers, wellbeing patterns -- or "None"]
```
### 4. Surface Team-Level Patterns
Look across the team for patterns in both dimensions:
**🎯 Development & Performance patterns:**
- **Recognition gap:** Anyone who hasn't received public recognition in >2 weeks?
- **1:1 gap:** Anyone overdue for a 1:1?
- **Goal staleness:** Anyone whose development goals haven't been updated in >6 weeks?
- **Growth signals:** Anyone taking on new scope or showing leadership behaviours?
- **Performance signals:** Anyone showing decreased engagement across multiple indicators?
**🫂 Wellbeing & Connection patterns:**
- **Energy imbalance:** Anyone consistently working late, weekends, or showing signs of overwork?
- **Isolation risk:** Anyone who's gone quiet in social channels or stopped engaging beyond work tasks?
- **Celebration deficit:** Is the team celebrating wins? Are specific people consistently uncelebrated?
- **Fun factor:** Is there joy and energy in team channels, or has everything become purely transactional?
- **Workload imbalance:** Anyone significantly more or less loaded than peers?
### 5. Produce the Health Check
Read `references/output-template.md` for the full output template structure.
### 6. Present
```
- Here's your team health check. These are signals for your reflection — you know your people better than any tool.
+ Here's your team health check. These are signals for your reflection -- you know your people better than any tool.
Want me to prep a 1:1 for anyone specific?
```
### 7. Sub-Agent Review
Spawn a sub-agent to review the health check with fresh eyes. The reviewer should:
- - Check that **both lenses** (Development & Performance and Wellbeing & Connection) are meaningfully covered — neither should be thin or skipped.
- - Check for **baseline awareness** — are signals calibrated against known baselines, or is normal behaviour being flagged?
+ - Check that **both lenses** (Development & Performance and Wellbeing & Connection) are meaningfully covered -- neither should be thin or skipped.
+ - Check for **baseline awareness** -- are signals calibrated against known baselines, or is normal behaviour being flagged?
- Verify that language stays in "signal" territory, never crossing into diagnosis ("seems disengaged", "is struggling").
- - Check that **celebration and recognition** are given adequate weight — not just problem-flagging.
- - Flag any team member who appears to have very thin data — the manager should know where the blind spots are.
+ - Check that **celebration and recognition** are given adequate weight -- not just problem-flagging.
+ - Flag any team member who appears to have very thin data -- the manager should know where the blind spots are.
Incorporate the reviewer's feedback before presenting the final health check to the manager.
## Important Notes
Read `../../references/operating-principles.md` for shared operating principles (data scope, DM flagging, signals vs diagnoses, connector unavailability).
Additional notes specific to this skill:
- **Celebrate first.** Lead with wins, recognition, and positive energy. Wellbeing & Connection starts with seeing the good.
- - **Both lenses, every time.** Don't skip Wellbeing & Connection when the team is performing well — high performance without care leads to burnout. Don't skip Development & Performance when someone is struggling — care without growth isn't enough.
- - **Goals are the anchor for growth.** The most actionable Development & Performance insight is usually about development goals — are they current? Is there visible progress?
- - **Connection is the anchor for care.** The most actionable Wellbeing & Connection insight is usually about belonging — does this person feel seen, celebrated, and connected?
+ - **Both lenses, every time.** Don't skip Wellbeing & Connection when the team is performing well -- high performance without care leads to burnout. Don't skip Development & Performance when someone is struggling -- care without growth isn't enough.
+ - **Goals are the anchor for growth.** The most actionable Development & Performance insight is usually about development goals -- are they current? Is there visible progress?
+ - **Connection is the anchor for care.** The most actionable Wellbeing & Connection insight is usually about belonging -- does this person feel seen, celebrated, and connected?
- **Don't run too frequently.** Weekly or biweekly is ideal. Daily health checks would over-index on noise.