OKR approval workflow

Last updated: September 4, 2026

Use the OKR approval workflow to require a designated approver before draft OKRs become visible across your organization.

This feature is available on request. It is off by default and there is no self-serve toggle in Settings; the Rhythms team switches it on per workspace. To turn it on for your workspace, contact Rhythms support.

What the approval workflow does

When the workflow is enabled, new OKRs stay in Draft until someone with approve permission publishes them.

People who can edit an OKR but cannot approve it use Request Approval. That moves the OKR to Pending Approval and notifies the configured approvers. An approver then reviews the OKR and clicks Publish.

Publishing makes the OKR live (status Not Started) and sets its visibility to public so the rest of the organization can see it.

Publishing is a go-live step, not a lock. After an OKR is published, people with edit permission can still change the title, targets, and other details, and they can still check in. To limit who can change live OKRs, tighten Edit and Manage in Settings › OKRs › Permissions. See Rhythms OKR Roles and Permissions.

Enable the workflow

Follow these steps to get the approval workflow turned on and configured:

  1. Contact Rhythms support and ask them to enable the OKR approval workflow for your workspace.
  2. After it is enabled, a default Pending Approval OKRs view is created so approvers can find OKRs waiting on them.
  3. An Approve permission row appears in Settings › OKRs › Permissions for organization, team, and individual OKRs.

Until the workflow is enabled, anyone with edit or manage permission can publish drafts themselves. There is no request/approve step.

Configure who can approve

Rhythms Admins set approve permission separately for organization, team, and individual OKRs.

Go to Settings › OKRs › Permissions, then choose the Organization, Team, or Individual tab.

The Approve row controls who can publish draft and pending-approval OKRs. Options depend on the OKR level:

Organization-level OKRs

  • Admins only
  • OKR owners and their managers (default)
  • Anyone in the organization

Team-level OKRs

  • Admins only
  • OKR team owners
  • OKR owners and their managers (default)
  • OKR team members
  • Anyone in the organization

Individual OKRs

  • OKR owners and their managers (default)
  • Anyone in the organization

Rhythms Admins can always approve. OKR owners and creators keep access to OKRs they own or created, consistent with other OKR permissions.

Request approval for a draft OKR

Use this when you can edit the OKR but do not have approve permission.

  1. Open the draft OKR.
  2. Click Request Approval.
  3. Confirm the request.

The OKR moves to Pending Approval, and configured approvers are notified. You can request approval again after you make changes.

You can also ask Rhythms in chat to request approval for one or several draft OKRs at once.

Publish (approve) an OKR

Use this when you have approve permission.

  1. Open the draft or pending-approval OKR, or find it in the Pending Approval OKRs view.
  2. Click Publish.
  3. If the OKR has children, optionally tick Also publish its immediate child OKRs or Publish the entire hierarchy, which includes any children still pending approval.
  4. Confirm.

Publishing a parent does not automatically publish every child unless you choose those options. Children you do not have approve permission for are skipped.

After publish, the OKR is live and public. Check-in becomes the primary action instead of Publish or Request Approval.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I turn this on? Contact Rhythms support. The approval workflow is enabled per workspace on request and is not available as a self-serve setting.

Does publishing lock the OKR so nobody can edit it? No. Publishing makes the OKR live and visible. People with edit permission can still update content and check in. Use Edit and Manage permissions if you want fewer people changing OKRs after they go live.

What is the difference between Request Approval and Publish? Request Approval asks someone else to review and publish. It sets the status to Pending Approval and notifies approvers. It does not make the OKR live. Publish is the approval action. Only users with approve permission can publish. That is what makes the OKR live.

Who gets notified when I request approval? The specific people allowed to approve that OKR under Settings › OKRs › Permissions: the OKR owners and their managers, the OKR team owners, or the OKR team members, depending on the option chosen. When the option is Admins only or Anyone in the organization, no individual is notified; approvers find the OKR in the Pending Approval OKRs view. The person who requested approval is never notified of their own request.

What if I can already publish? If you have approve permission, use Publish directly. You do not need to request approval first.

What happens to drafts if the workflow is not enabled? OKRs still start as drafts. People with edit or manage permission can publish them without an approval step.

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