Step 1 (pre-work): Share the retro worksheet
Before your virtual workshop, send the retro worksheet to your team via email or chat. This will help folks who like to read materials in advance feel more prepared.
Virtual First | Effectiveness Kit
Run a retrospective
As one project ends, it can be easy to rush on to the next. But carving out time to reflect on how your project went, and what you might do differently next time, is crucial to growth. Use this exercise to celebrate wins, develop empathy for team members, and quickly learn from mistakes.
45 MINS | VIRTUAL TEAM WORKSHOP
Step 2: Warm up the “room”
If your project was challenging, participants might feel nervous to talk about it. As you begin your virtual workshop, emphasize that the purpose is to understand how things went, in a light, positive way. Then invite everyone to answer a warm-up question. We recommend cutting through small talk with questions like “What’s something important to you that your peers might not know about?” Once everyone’s settled in, ask them to agree to a few basic principles:
- Be honest but respectful and constructive
- Use “I” statements, not “you” statements (“I wish we’d have had more time” vs. “You should’ve scheduled more time”)
- Don’t interrupt one another
Step 3: Reflect on your project
Set a timer for eight minutes and have each person write down their answers to the I like/I wish/I wonder questions in a private doc. When time is up, ask everyone to call out their thoughts in a popcorn, rapid-fire style (or, if you prefer, have a facilitator call on people directly). Spend five to seven minutes per category. As people speak, have a notetaker add the answers to a shared retro worksheet (below).
Step 4: Identify top themes
Once you’ve entered everyone’s answers, ask your team to help bundle them into themes. For example, if you notice lots of points about working together, you could create a collaboration theme. Or if people are saying that things felt rushed, you could create a timeline theme. If you notice the same themes repeatedly, set FAST goals as a team and decide effective ways to manage them. Have your notetaker add these themes to your retro worksheet. When you’re done, ask your team to vote on three to five themes they want to follow up on. You can do this by having them (1) show a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or thumbs-meh to their screen camera, or (2) place emoji next to their top 3 choices.
Step 5: Decide on next steps
After you’ve decided on your top three to five themes, ask the group to identify any to-dos or follow-ups related to them. When you’ve got a good list, assign owners and due dates.
More resources
3 easy wins
Build the habit
- Tomorrow: Ask yourself “What’s one thing I liked about today?”
- Next week: Ask your team “What’s one thing we wish could’ve been different about last week?”
- Quarterly: For longer projects, schedule regular virtual retros