What Are Teams?

Teams organize your organization members into groups. When you assign a Decision Site to a team, team members can access it (based on your organization's Team Access Control setting).

Teams in 60 Seconds

What teams do:

• Group people who work together
• Control Decision Site visibility
• Organize by function, region, or product

What teams don't do:

• Grant permissions (that's organization roles)
• Control what actions people can do
• Replace organization structure

Key insight: Teams work with Team Access Control to determine who sees what.

The Basic Concept

Think of teams as folders for people:

Sales Organization
├─ Enterprise Team
│  ├─ Sarah (OWNER)
│  ├─ John (MEMBER)
│  └─ Maria (MEMBER)
│
├─ SMB Team
│  ├─ Alex (OWNER)
│  └─ Jordan (MEMBER)
│
└─ Default Team (everyone)

When a Decision Site is assigned to Enterprise Team and your organization uses TEAM access control, only Sarah, John, and Maria can see it.

How Teams Work with Access Control

Your organization has a Team Access Control setting. This setting determines whether team membership matters:

ORGANIZATION Access Control

Team membership doesn't restrict access.

Everyone who can create or edit Decision Sites can see all Decision Sites, regardless of team assignment.

Example:

Team Access Control: ORGANIZATION
Enterprise Team: Sarah, John
SMB Team: Alex

Decision Site: Acme Corp Deal
Team: Enterprise Team

Who can access?
✅ Sarah (team member)
✅ John (team member)
✅ Alex (not on team, but organization setting allows it)
✅ Any CREATOR or COLLABORATOR

When to use: Small organizations, full transparency environments.

TEAM Access Control

Team membership restricts access.

Only people on the team (plus the owner) can see Decision Sites assigned to that team.

Example:

Team Access Control: TEAM
Enterprise Team: Sarah, John
SMB Team: Alex

Decision Site: Acme Corp Deal
Owner: John
Team: Enterprise Team

Who can access?
✅ Sarah (team member)
✅ John (owner + team member)
❌ Alex (not on team)
✅ Organization ADMIN (always bypasses)

When to use: Regional teams, confidential deals, structured access.

OWN Access Control

Only owners can access (most restrictive).

Team membership doesn't matter - only the Decision Site owner can access it.

Example:

Team Access Control: OWN
Enterprise Team: Sarah, John

Decision Site: Acme Corp Deal
Owner: John
Team: Enterprise Team

Who can access?
❌ Sarah (even though team OWNER)
✅ John (owner)
✅ Organization ADMIN (always bypasses)
❌ Other team members

When to use: Personal deals, maximum privacy.

Team Roles: OWNER vs MEMBER

Teams have two roles:

Team OWNER

Purpose: Manage the team.

Can do:

• Add and remove team members
• Change team settings
• Delete the team (except default team)
• Promote members to OWNER
• Demote OWNERs to MEMBER

Cannot do:

• Access Decision Sites without proper access control
• Change organization-wide Team Access Control
• Create Decision Sites (needs CREATOR organization role)

Important: Team OWNER is about team management, not Decision Site access.

Team MEMBER

Purpose: Access team Decision Sites.

Can do:

• Access Decision Sites assigned to their team (based on Team Access Control)
• View team membership

Cannot do:

• Add or remove team members
• Change team settings
• Delete the team
• Manage team roles

The Default Team

Every organization has a special default team:

Automatically created:

• Created when your organization is set up
• Named "Default Team" (can be renamed)
• All new organization members can be added automatically

Cannot be deleted:

• System prevents deletion
• Acts as safety net for orphaned Decision Sites

Receives orphaned Decision Sites:

• When you delete a team, its Decision Sites move to the default team
• Ensures Decision Sites always have a team

Doesn't restrict access:

• Default team is excluded from TEAM access control logic
• Used for organization purposes, not access restrictions

Teams vs Organization Roles

Teams and organization roles serve different purposes:

You have both: One organization role + membership in zero or more teams.

Example:

User: John
Organization Role: COLLABORATOR
Teams: Enterprise Team (MEMBER), Default Team (MEMBER)

What this means:
- COLLABORATOR: Can edit shared Decision Sites, can't create new ones
- Enterprise Team MEMBER: Can access Enterprise Team Decision Sites (if TEAM access control)
- Default Team MEMBER: Added to default team automatically

Common Misunderstandings

"Team OWNER can see all team Decision Sites"

Not always true. With OWN access control, team OWNER cannot see team members' Decision Sites. Access depends on Team Access Control setting.

"I need to be on a team to access Decision Sites"

Not with ORGANIZATION access control. With ORGANIZATION access control, team membership doesn't restrict access.

"Teams grant permissions"

False. Teams control visibility, not permissions. Organization roles grant permissions.

"Each team can have its own access control"

False. Team Access Control is organization-wide. All teams follow the same setting.

"I can be OWNER of multiple teams"

True! You can be OWNER of some teams and MEMBER of others.

Real-World Examples

Regional Sales Teams (TEAM Access Control)

Setup:

Organization: SaaS Company
Team Access Control: TEAM

Teams:
├─ US-East (OWNER: Sarah)
│  └─ MEMBER: John, Maria
├─ US-West (OWNER: Alex)
│  └─ MEMBER: Jordan
└─ EMEA (OWNER: Emma)
   └─ MEMBER: Lucas, Sofia

Result:

• John can only see US-East Decision Sites
• Sarah can see all US-East Decision Sites (team OWNER)
• Emma cannot see US-East Decision Sites (different team)
• Organization ADMIN can see everything

Product Teams (ORGANIZATION Access Control)

Setup:

Organization: Product Company
Team Access Control: ORGANIZATION

Teams:
├─ Product A Team
├─ Product B Team
└─ Product C Team

Result:

• Teams are for organization only
• Everyone can see all Decision Sites
• Team membership doesn't restrict access

Personal Deals (OWN Access Control)

Setup:

Organization: Consulting Firm
Team Access Control: OWN

Teams:
├─ Partners Team
└─ Associates Team

Result:

• Each person can only see their own Decision Sites
• Team membership doesn't matter
• Maximum privacy

When to Use Teams

Good Reasons to Use Teams

Regional separation:

• East Coast, West Coast, International
• Each region shouldn't see other regions' deals

Product segmentation:

• Different products with different teams
• Organize by what you sell

Account size tiers:

• Enterprise, Mid-Market, SMB
• Different access requirements

Confidential deals:

• Some deals need restricted access
• Team structure supports this

When Teams Add Unnecessary Complexity

Small organization (< 10 people):

• Everyone should probably see everything
• ORGANIZATION access control simpler

Flat structure:

• No natural team divisions
• Full transparency preferred

Single sales team:

• Everyone works together
• No access restrictions needed

Next Steps

Now that you understand what teams are:

1. Check your Team Access Control - Ask your organization ADMIN what setting you're using
2. View your teams - Go to Settings → Teams to see which teams exist
3. Understand your membership - See which teams you're on and your role
4. Create your first team - Follow Quick Start if you're an ADMIN

Related Topics

• Quick Start - Create and configure teams
• Team Access Control - Deep dive into access control
• When to Use Teams - Decision framework
• Best Practices - Team management strategies