The objective of this retrospective is to identify and celebrate the team’s strengths, reinforcing positive behaviors and fostering a positive, empowering team culture.

Description

A Strengths-Based Retrospective is focused on understanding and leveraging the team’s collective strengths. By acknowledging what the team does well, you can encourage these behaviors to continue, boosting the team’s confidence and improving performance.

When to Use

  • After a successful sprint or project, to identify and reinforce the strengths that led to success.
  • When morale is low, to shift the focus to positive attributes and achievements.
  • During the Norming or Performing stages, to solidify team cohesion and build on established strengths.

Materials Needed

  • Whiteboard or flipchart
  • Sticky notes
  • Marker pens

Preparation

Write the prompt “What are our team’s strengths?” on the whiteboard or flipchart.

Strengths based retrospective

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Introduction (5 minutes): Begin by explaining the purpose of the retrospective and the focus on the team’s strengths.
  2. Brainstorming (10 minutes): Each team member writes down what they perceive as the team’s strengths on sticky notes, one strength per note.
  3. Sharing (15 minutes): Team members stick their notes on the board and explain each one. Ask team members to share specific examples of when they saw this strength in action, if possible.
  4. Grouping and Voting (10 minutes): Group similar strengths together. Once all strengths are grouped, have each team member vote on the strengths they feel are most important or impactful to the team’s success.
  5. Discussion (15 minutes): Discuss the top voted strengths. Explore how these strengths contributed to the team’s success and how they can be further leveraged in the future.
  6. Action Planning (10 minutes): Develop an action plan on how to better leverage these strengths in the next sprint or project.
  7. Wrap Up (5 minutes): Summarize the key findings and action plan.

Important Remarks

Keep the conversation positive and forward-looking. If negative aspects come up, acknowledge them but steer the conversation back to strengths and how to leverage them.

Tips and Tricks

  • Encourage specific examples. This makes strengths feel more real and grounded.
  • Ensure everyone contributes. Each team member might have a unique perspective on the team’s strengths.
  • Turn the identified strengths into a poster or visual display for the team’s workspace as a reminder of what the team does well.

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Format Fiesta