How to run effective retrospectives by making them fun, flexible, and relevant
Practical principles and activities drawn from recent retrospectives
Ellie McCarthy leads our product management and client relationship practices at William Joseph
Originating from agile methodologies, retrospectives are regular meetings held at a timely pause in work to allow team members to reflect on the past, identify what went well and what could have gone better.
Effective retrospectives can transform how teams learn and improve. However, to keep them valuable, it’s essential to mix up formats, connect discussions to current events, and ensure a positive, action-focused atmosphere.
Drawing insights from recent retrospectives, this article explores practical principles like the retrospective prime directive, using engaging icebreakers, and linking feedback to clear actions.
We also suggest fresh structures and ways to keep retros relevant by connecting them to major events like elections or industry awards. By evolving your approach, you can maintain momentum and drive continuous improvement.
1. Start with the retrospective prime directive
Norm Kerth’s prime directive of assuming everyone did their best helps create a safe space for honest feedback. Repeating this at the start of each retro sets a tone of trust and psychological safety.
“Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.”
– Norm Kerth, Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Review
Reinforcing positivity
Ask participants to share one thing they appreciated about a colleague’s effort before diving into challenges. This reinforces the directive’s positive framing.
2. Make things fun: use icebreakers and themes
Starting light-heartedly helps people open up. In our New Year retro, asking about what TV shows people were watching worked well to get them chatting. Pick a topic that is inclusive to as many people as possible and doesn’t ask them to reveal too much about themselves.
Favourite music can often be felt as too high stakes for people that don’t know each other. World Book Day costumes exclude those without children. Favourite TV shows or chocolate bars seem to resonate with most groups of people.
3. Mix up the structure to keep engagement high
Repeating the same format leads to disengagement. Using varied structures like a nautical-themed “wind in our sails” and “anchors holding us back” kept the WJ retro dynamic and focused on actions.
Our standard ‘what’s gone well, what could have gone better’ structure can still be powerful, but even more so if mixed up with other formats.
Alternative structures
4Ls (liked, learned, lacked, longed for): captures a range of feedback.
Mountain climber: what helped us climb, what slowed us down, and what’s at the summit?
Hot air balloon: what’s lifting us up, what’s weighing us down, and what’s ahead?
Make it feel current
You can even connect the retro structure to current events. In the past we have used a variety of different themes to keep things interesting.
The General Election: with tongue in cheek questions around the government’s record (what’s happened in the past) and ‘bold manifesto’ promises to discuss the future.
The Oscars: with questions such as ‘best supporting role’ or ‘biggest plot twist’.
The current season: especially looking at spring and how it can be a shortcut to discussing change.
Festive season: looking back at the year and writing letters to Santa for what we want next year.
Fireworks night: what went off like a rocket and what was a damp squib.
4. Spend time discussing, but don’t forget actions
Linking feedback to actionable steps keeps retros productive. We generally have a facilitator moving the discussion forward while somebody else tries to keep notes on actions. It’s important to assign an owner to any specific action to take.
Revisiting actions before you get into the latest retrospective can be difficult. While it’s not always essential, it’s often a good idea to at least bring up a few things that have been started since the last session to build trust in the process.
Keep learning and evolving
We are always looking for new ways to improve our retros. They’ve become a big part of our way of working and have helped the team become closer and collaborate more effectively. But it’s important to keep them fresh so that they’re accessible to all.
Need help refining your retrospectives? Get in touch!