Hello, and welcome to the retro newsletter. This week, we have a Poll: What do you want to learn more about? I am sharing some early mistakes and what I learned from them. There is still a special offer for Remote Facilitation Training only for newsletter subscribers.
Check out our Poll - What do you want to know more about?
What's in this newsletter
🗳️Poll - get involved in what you want to see
Mistakes I Made 🚷
When I first started facilitating retrospectives, I made many mistakes. Here are some of what I started with and some of what I learned.
1. Taking all the notes and moving all the stickies 📝
When I first started facilitating retros with my team, I would take notes, add the stickies to the board, cluster the stickies, decide what was important to talk about and make most of the decisions on behalf of the team. What quickly happened is that people began to disengage.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of being the person who does everything—taking notes, organizing thoughts, and moving virtual or physical sticky notes. If you're doing all the work, your team might feel less ownership of the process, making it harder for them to contribute meaningful insights.
Pro Tip:
Let everyone write, move, and own their stickies. If you are in a physical space, make space for people to write first and then add things to the board themselves. If you are remote, make sure everyone has access to the tool you are using so that everyone can add their own thoughts and ideas.
2. Not using data 📊
I would often just jump straight into what we could improve and what we did well in the absence of any kind of data. So, people were offering opinions on things without a shared data set from which to work.
Qualitative and quantitative data are both valuable. Either collect data before the retrospective that you can bring in or have the group create a shared data set to work from by having space for that.
Pro Tip:
Use metrics that the team is using to measure themselves. If the team has no metrics, that might be a place to start. What are we measuring that we want to improve or change? Using metrics over time can also help to identify patterns and improvements or just changes in the team.
3. Going for fun over impact 🪩
It's tempting to prioritize fun or novelty in retrospectives—especially to keep the team engaged—but overemphasizing these elements can dilute the focus on outcomes. When I first started, I wanted my team to enjoy the retrospectives and stay engaged, and I sometimes prioritised fun over impact. That isn’t always the worst thing you can do; if a team is demotivated or just needs a win, you can create a fun activity they can still learn from. Fun activities should be a tool to encourage participation, not the primary goal. If the retrospectives lack depth, important issues may go unaddressed, leaving the team without actionable takeaways.
Pro Tip:
Balance engaging activities with impactful reflection. Tie fun activities to meaningful insights, such as games that encourage team reflection or activities that naturally lead to a deeper discussion about performance and improvements. Always end with concrete, actionable takeaways that drive real change or learning.
Special Offers 💵
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4 quick tips for setting the stage ⏩
Use the Prime Directive - Norman Kerth’s retrospective prime directive is a great way to open a retrospective and create a safe and constructive container. ‘Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what was known at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.’
Engage Everyone Early - Make sure every voice is heard within the first five minutes to set the tone for full participation. If you can get everyone to contribute something, even a quick one-word check-in, they’re more likely to stay engaged throughout the retrospective. On the flip side, if some team members don’t speak up early, they may remain silent for the entire session. It’s worth the small time investment to ensure everyone feels included right from the start.
Visualise Purpose and Expected Outcomes
Visually present the purpose and goals of the retrospective to ensure everyone understands why they’re there and what they’ll gain from the session. This could be as simple as a whiteboard, a Flip chart or a frame on your Miro board that outlines these, for example, “reflect on our process” and “identify areas for improvement.” They can also be specific based on the retro focus. Recap these early in the session to align the team and keep them focused on the outcomes you want to achieve.
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Feel free to share this newsletter with others who might find value. You can also check out BuyMeA Coffee, where I have shared additional resources and will keep adding things.
Next Issue
In the next newsletter, I will consider the poll results and base my newsletter on what you want to learn about. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] and share what you want me to discuss or ask for help with specific scenarios.
