Building a Culture of Collaboration Through Rituals
- TJ Nelson
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
In a recent talk, Shishir Mehrotra—co-founder and CEO of Coda, emphasized the power of rituals in building great product teams. He defines a “good ritual” as something that (1) is named, (2) every employee knows by their first Friday, and (3) is templated so it can be repeated effectively.
These rituals are pivotal to creating an environment where asking the right questions, establishing effective decision-making processes, and involving the right stakeholders happen almost automatically.
At RainFocus, our product design team has embraced the power of rituals through four key practices. Each ritual operates at a different cadence and scale, but collectively they help us understand our products, nurture collaboration, and ensure we remain both customer-focused and future-oriented.
Here’s a closer look at how each ritual contributes to building an engaged, empathetic, and high-functioning design culture.
1. Insight
Insight is our annual user conference. As an event management company that serves large-scale enterprise tech clients, hosting our own event is a chance to “dog-food our product.” For a product design team, it’s a powerful moment of immersion in our own platform, processes, and client experience.
Why It Works
Customer Empathy: Because Insight is a high-profile event, we closely experience what our clients go through when planning and running major conferences. This firsthand exposure fosters empathy and helps us refine our user experience.
Cross-Department Collaboration: From marketing to engineering, nearly every team touches the conference. For design, it’s a golden opportunity to work cross-functionally and see how our work fits into the broader puzzle.
Attendee Feedback: Whether through sessions, meetings, or user surveys, we gather direct insights from clients and partners. This fuels the design and development roadmap with concrete ideas on what to improve or innovate.
2. UX Weekly
Every week, the design team meets for what we call “UX Weekly.” The schedule is mapped out a quarter in advance, giving everyone a clear picture of the quarter’s thematic focus and meeting formats.
Why It Works
Structured Learning: We start each quarter with a team retro, identifying what went well and where we can grow. Various team members lead three to four training sessions throughout the quarter—on topics they’re passionate about or areas where they have unique expertise.
Collaboration & Support: Breakout discussions foster peer-to-peer learning, and each session also serves as a forum to stay updated on new documentation, processes, design system components, and emerging patterns. It’s an opportunity for team members to ask questions, share resources from research ops, and ensure everyone remains aligned on our evolving approach as a design team.
Team Bonding: Once a quarter, we use this time for a team-building activity that goes beyond the day-to-day. It could be a fun workshop, an offbeat brainstorming exercise, or something purely social.
3. Chapter Critique
Chapter Critique sessions happen weekly in smaller “chapters,” each made up of roughly three to four team members. These chapters remain consistent for about a quarter before reshuffling.
Why It Works
Deep Dive Feedback: Each person typically gets 15–20 minutes to present work, gather critiques, and brainstorm solutions. This dedicated time ensures thorough, meaningful feedback rather than rushed drive-by comments.
Idea Generation: Some designers use the time to whiteboard or strategize on a problem they’re still scoping. Others might show near-final designs for polishing feedback.
Context & Continuity: Because chapters remain stable for a quarter, members gain deeper knowledge of each other’s projects, challenges, and workflow, leading to richer critiques.
4. Product Summit
A few times a year, we coordinate a larger “Product Summit” that brings together product design, product management, and product marketing. People often fly in from various locations to the headquarters for an immersive, strategic deep-dive.
Why It Works
Vision & Strategy: This summit serves as a chance to step away from day-to-day execution. We explore high-level strategy, celebrate wins, and set the course for where our product is headed.
Cross-Functional Training & Showcases: Teams present recent work, share learnings, and might offer training on new tools or methodologies.
In-Person Bonding: With remote team members flying in, these gatherings are a chance to meet face-to-face, share meals, and strengthen personal relationships that fuel better virtual collaboration later.
Why These Rituals Matter
Collaboration: Whether it’s the massive coordination behind Insight or the intimate brainstorming in Chapter Critiques, each ritual has collaboration at its core.
Empathy: Dogfooding at Insight gives us direct user empathy, while weekly activities keep us aligned with each other’s work, ensuring designs reflect both user needs and internal realities.
Effective Decisions: Regular and purposeful forums—from UX Weekly to the Product Summit—create clear spaces for decisions and feedback. They also ensure that the right people are in the right room at the right time.
Culture & Morale: Named and templated rituals become part of our culture’s DNA, helping new hires ramp quickly and fostering a sense of belonging across the team.
Conclusion
Rituals, as Shishir Mehrotra suggests, are not just feel-good team traditions; they’re strategic pillars that shape decision-making, foster a continuous feedback loop, and keep everyone aligned on core objectives. At RainFocus, our four golden rituals—Insight, UX Weekly, Chapter Critiques, and Product Summits—enable us to stay nimble, customer-focused, and innovative. By ensuring each ritual is named, known, and templated, we cultivate the kind of environment where great product experiences are born and nurtured.
Whether you’re leading a scrappy startup or a fast-scaling enterprise, consider adopting a small set of named, well-structured rituals. They might be the secret ingredient that not only boosts collaboration and decision-making but also makes your workplace a more vibrant, inclusive, and rewarding place to be.
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