Introducing the Chill Retrospective
Remember the good old days when airplanes did not have electricity or internet connectivity? I had just gotten on a flight over the ocean. I had been working like crazy, trying to get everything done, so I could go on vacation with a good conscience. I didn’t quite succeed, so here I was, on the plane, with about 2 hours to finish things before the battery died. Eventually, what had to happen did happen, the battery ran out, and I closed the computer.
I closed my eyes, really relaxing for the first time in who knows how long. Some moments of nothing – I don’t really know how long – then Woosh! A flood of ideas came flowing through my brain. Things I could do, products I could create; people I could talk to. Everything seemed possible in that moment. Turning off unleashed my creative juices.
“Do. Do! Do! Do! – It’s all about doing in the Agile movement. Even retrospectives are gamified, but people need downtime to be healthy and creative.”
John Styffe, Neuro Coach Trainer
Today, we hardly turn off at all. Especially not a work. We all have too many meetings and too much to do, and our devices are always available to entertain us and give us dopamine fixes.
This came up at a conversation about retrospectives with Ziryan Salayi, Ilija Popjanev, Nancy Beers, and Charles-Louis de Maere at Agile Day Kaunas. Could it be a basis for a retrospective?
Personal / Personal Agility Version
Team / Scrum Version
Yesterday, I invited my CSM students to do a Chill Retrospective. The biggest impediment was that most people were not wearing watches. How to tell time without a phone? Fortunately, one person had a watch, so everyone else could orient on her.
People greeted the idea of leaving their phones at the office with a mixture of trepidation and delight, perhaps because even turning off their phones after business hours is such a challenge. They could have taken their phones if they wanted to, but everyone decided to leave theirs in the office.!
People came back on time, which I guess wasn’t surprising. They appreciated the calm, which is a rare experience these days. They had clear ideas about what they wanted to do moving forward.
I have always been a fan of Boris Gloger’s Heartbeat Retrospective. This format takes you through five steps, in which you mostly alternate between writing your ideas on sticky notes and sharing them with your team:
The Chill Retrospective would simply add 30 minutes of chilled reflection to the potential improvement step. Chill, then write your ideas, then move on to consolidate and converge like you always do.
How does this resonate with you. You can give it a try by yourself or try it with your team. Either way, I’d love to hear how this works for you! join the conversation on LinkedIn, or post your experience and tag me to start the conversation!
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