JO’s Newsletter 📰

Hello, and welcome to the retro newsletter. This week, I’m sharing an end of year reflection exercise that I like to use with teams to help them reflect on the year and set up for next year.

“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.” – Steve Jobs

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Year-End Reflection

I have been travelling in the USA for two weeks, which is why there has been no newsletter. I got a little sidetracked, but I’m back. At this time of year, South Africa is gearing up for summer holidays. Most people will go on leave from the 16 or so of December and off on their summer holidays. Things are slowing down, and people are often tired and counting down the days till they can get out of the office and start to relax.

That's why I like doing something different for the end-of-year retro. So here is a format I have used quite often. Celebrations, Learnings, New Years Resolutions

• Celebrations: what do we want to celebrate for ourselves as individuals and as a team?

• Learnings: What are the year's big learnings, team, and individual learnings? 

• New Year’s Resolutions: What do we want to think about and do better next year, or change for next year?

How to Run the Retrospective

1. Set the Stage

Make sure you still set the stage and get all the voices in the room with a short check-in question or reflection. Share the purpose and outcomes and align on working agreements as per usual.

2. Celebrations: What do we want to celebrate? 🎉

• Prompt: What successes, big or small, do you want to celebrate?

• Encourage people to share individual achievements, team milestones, or even unexpected wins.

Get everyone to think about these for a few minutes and write them down. Then go one by one to share. Encourage people to use their calendars or scroll through their photo’s to help them remember all the things

3. Learnings: What Did We Discover? ✨

• Prompt: What lessons did we learn this year? What didn’t work as expected?

• Dive into specific challenges or areas for growth. Avoid blame—focus on insights and constructive takeaways.

Again, give everyone time to think for themselves and then share. They can use code, or photos or calendars to help jog their memory.

4. New Year’s Resolutions: What’s Next? 🌟

• Prompt: What New Year resolutions do we want to make for Next Year?

• Encourage actionable resolutions that align with team or personal goals.

Again, give everyone time to think for themselves and then share. They can use code, or photos or calendars to help jog their memory.

5. Generate Insights

We are essentially using the three prompts to gather data, so we can now include a section to generate insights. You can do this after each section or wait until all the data is up before doing this.

The way I generate insights for this might be different based on the team and their energy. Here are some questions that you could ask.

• What is surprising?

• What do you notice that is the same?

• What do you notice that is the same except for?

• What was difficult?

• What is important to take into next year?

5. Close with Gratitude and Action

Use your closing to decide what to take into next year, how you will do that, and who will be the champion. And then get people to share appreciations for each other.

Tips for Success

• Make It Visual: To capture ideas, use sticky notes or digital tools (like Miro, MURAL, or Trello).

• Celebrate Together: Consider ending the retrospective with a fun activity, such as a team toast, a “year-in-review” quiz, or a gratitude circle.

• Revisit Resolutions: Schedule a follow-up check-in at the beginning of the year, to see which resolutions we really want to take on.

Reflections are a gift we give ourselves—whether as a team or individually.

Ready to try this format for your end-of-year retrospective? I’d love to hear how it goes. Share your thoughts and experiences with me.

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Next Issue

I am busy scheduling the interview with Esther. She was travelling, and I was travelling. It will be next year. Hugs. Contact me at [email protected] and share what you want me to discuss or ask for help with specific scenarios.