Rhythms OKR Roles and Permissions

Manage roles and permissions in Rhythms to support your OKR program securely.

Introduction

Rhythms uses a role-based access control system to help your organization securely manage access, control OKR actions, and foster collaboration while aligning teams to strategic goals. This guide outlines the available roles and their permissions, plus how to configure who can create, edit, and manage OKRs at different levels of your organization.

Roles in Rhythms

Rhythms includes several roles to support your OKR program. The table below summarizes each role and its purpose:

Configuring OKR Permissions

Both Rhythms Platform Administrators can control who can create, edit, and manage OKRs at different levels.

Access these settings at: Settings > OKRs > Permissions

Rhythms provides three types of permissions for each OKR level:

• Create - Who can create new OKRs at this level

• Manage - Who can delete OKRs, transfer ownership, and change delegate settings

• Edit - Who can modify content, update progress, and perform check-ins

Organization-level OKRs

Control who can create, edit, and manage OKRs that apply to your entire organization.

Create Permissions Options:

• Admins Only (default) - Only Rhythms Platform Administrators

• Team Owners and Admins - All Team Owners and Rhythms Platform Administrators

• Anyone in the organization - All standard users

Manage and Edit Permissions Options:

• Rhythms Admins Only (default) - Only Rhythms Platform Administrators

• Anyone in the organization - All standard users

Team-level OKRs

Control who can create, edit, and manage OKRs for teams. These settings apply organization-wide.

Create, Manage, and Edit Permissions Options:

• Rhythms Admins Only - Only Rhythms Platform Administrators

• OKR's team owners (default for manage/edit) - Owners of the teams associated with that specific OKR

• OKR's team members - All members of the teams associated with that specific OKR

• Anyone in the organization - All standard users can create/edit/manage for any team

Important: "OKR's team owners" refers to the owners of the teams associated with that specific OKR, not all team owners in your organization.

Individual OKRs

Control who can edit and manage individual OKRs. Everyone can create individual OKRs.

Create Permissions:

• Everyone - All users with standard licenses (only option, not configurable)

Manage and Edit Permissions Options:

• OKR owners only - Only the owner of that specific OKR

• Everyone (default) - All standard users

Permissions Matrix

The table below shows what each role can do:

*Action can be performed only if permitted by organization-wide settings configured by administrators.

†Team Owners have automatic access to OKRs they own or create. For other OKRs from their teams, access depends on the edit/manage permission settings. If settings are restrictive (e.g., "Rhythms Admins only"), Team Owner role alone doesn't grant access.

Note on Visibility: For OKRs with "Limited" visibility, users need explicit visibility grants to view or edit them, even if their role would normally allow editing (e.g., Team Owners for their team's OKRs). Visibility is automatically granted to OKR Owners, Creators, and Delegates. Public OKRs are visible to all roles except where explicitly restricted. Learn more about visibility: 📄 OKR Visibility — Who can see an OKR.

Additional Role Permissions:

• Guest: Can view OKRs based on visibility settings but cannot create, edit, or manage

• Delegate: Can edit and check in on delegated OKRs as if they were the owner, but cannot manage (delete/transfer) those OKRs

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between editing and managing an OKR?

Editing an OKR means modifying its content and tracking progress:

• Change the title, description, dates, or key results

• Update progress and status

• Perform check-ins

Managing an OKR means controlling its ownership and lifecycle:

• Delete the OKR

• Transfer ownership to another user

• Change who is assigned as a delegate

These are separate permissions, so an organization might allow many users to edit OKRs (track progress, update content) while restricting who can manage them (delete or transfer ownership).

Why can I edit an OKR but not delete it?

This means you have edit permissions but not manage permissions for this OKR level.

Edit and manage are separate permission types in Rhythms. Your organization has configured settings to allow you to update content and track progress (edit), but restricted who can delete or transfer ownership (manage).

If you need to delete an OKR, ask:

• The OKR owner/creator (they always have full access)

• A Rhythms Admin (they have full access to all OKRs)

• Your Rhythms Platform Administrator to adjust manage permissions for this OKR level

Can Team Owners always edit their team's OKRs?

Not automatically. Team Owners have automatic access to OKRs they own or create, but for other OKRs from their teams, access depends on permission settings.

Example:

• If team-level edit permissions are set to "OKR's team owners," Team Owners can edit OKRs for teams where they're listed as an owner

• If set to "Rhythms Admins only," Team Owners can only edit OKRs they own/create, not all OKRs from their teams

This allows organizations to maintain strategic control while still giving team leads ownership over OKRs they're directly responsible for.

What permissions do Delegates have?

Delegates have edit permissions for OKRs they're delegated to, but not manage permissions.

Delegates can:

• Edit content (title, description, key results)

• Update progress

• Perform check-ins

• View and align the OKR

Delegates cannot:

• Delete the OKR

• Transfer ownership

• Change who else is a delegate

This ensures Delegates can act on the OKR owner's behalf for day-to-day work without being able to permanently alter ownership or delete strategic goals.

What's the difference between creating an OKR and being assigned as an owner?

When you create an OKR, you automatically have permission to edit and manage that OKR, even if you assign ownership to someone else. Both the creator and the assigned owner can manage the OKR.

This means if you create an OKR for your team and assign it to a team member, you'll still have full access to edit and manage it alongside the assigned owner.

Why can all users in my organization create OKRs at any level?

Organizations created before permission controls were introduced default to permissive settings (everyone can create OKRs at all levels). This preserves existing workflows. Administrators can adjust these settings anytime at Admin > OKRs > Permissions.

What happens if I restrict permissions after users have already created OKRs?

Permission changes apply to all OKRs at that level when users try to perform actions. However, users who created or own OKRs retain full access to those specific OKRs regardless of permission settings.

For example, if you change team-level edit permissions from "Everyone" to "OKR's team owners," users who previously edited team OKRs may lose access unless they're team owners or the OKR creator/owner.

Which permission setting is right for my organization?

Permission needs depend on your organization's structure and OKR philosophy:

• Enterprise organizations: Maintain strategic control by setting Organization OKR edit/manage permissions to "Rhythms Admins only." Set Team OKR permissions to "OKR's team owners" so teams can manage their own goals while leadership controls org-level strategy.

• Startups and small teams: Encourage participation by setting edit permissions broadly ("Everyone" or "Team Members") while potentially restricting manage permissions to prevent accidental deletion. This enables collaborative goal-setting while protecting important OKRs.

• Growing organizations: Use a hybrid approach:

  • Organization OKRs: Edit/Manage = "Rhythms Admins only" (maintain strategic alignment)

  • Team OKRs: Edit = "OKR's team members", Manage = "OKR's team owners" (empower teams to track progress while team leads control lifecycle)

  • Individual OKRs: Edit/Manage = "Everyone" (encourage individual ownership)

Remember: OKR Owners, Creators, and Admins always have full access regardless of permission settings, so restrictive settings primarily affect non-owners viewing or updating OKRs.

How do OKR permissions differ from visibility settings?

Permissions control who can create, edit, or manage OKRs they can see. Visibility controls who can see specific OKRs in the first place.

For example, if an OKR has "Limited" visibility, users must be explicitly granted visibility access before any permission settings apply. Learn more about visibility: 📄 OKR Visibility — Who can see an OKR.

Related Articles

• 📄 Rhythms OKR Permissions Configuration, User Access, and Troubleshooting Guide- Detailed configuration guide and troubleshooting

• 📄 OKR Visibility — Who can see an OKR- Control who can view specific OKRs

• 📄 Assign Delegates: Keep OKRs Current Without Being the Bottleneck- Learn how to delegate OKR management

• 📄 Guest Users in Rhythms: Read-Only Access- Understanding guest user permissions