🌹🎶 Kiss From a Rose Retro
Let’s bloom together by reflecting on our project’s highs and lows, just as a rose grows through sun and shadow. Share what lifts us up, what holds us back, and where we can keep blossoming for a harmonious sprint!
Template Columns
🌱 Plant New Seeds
Suggest fresh practices or ideas worth nurturing to help our team blossom.
Base column: Start🌑 Prune the Thorns
Identify habits or roadblocks that hold us back, so we can trim them away.
Base column: Stop🌹 Let It Bloom
Highlight ongoing strengths and rituals that we should continue to let flourish.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Kiss From a Rose retrospective invites teams to celebrate successes, surface blockers, and cultivate new ideas using a botanical metaphor. It encourages open reflection to help your team flourish, addressing what to grow, trim, and sustain.
When to use this template
Use this template at the end of any sprint or milestone, especially when your team needs both positivity and honest feedback to nurture ongoing improvement.
How to facilitate
Welcome everyone and explain the rose-inspired theme, emphasizing personal and team growth through highs and lows.
Review the three columns: Plant New Seeds for new ideas, Prune the Thorns for blockers, and Let It Bloom for current strengths.
Give participants a few minutes to silently add notes to each column, focusing on specific events, behaviors, or processes.
Invite the team to group similar notes and discuss each column together, prioritizing key topics or patterns as you go.
Facilitate an open conversation on actionable changes and what support is needed to address any thorns or foster new seeds.
Wrap up by summarizing action items, celebrating blooms, and inviting input on how to keep the team connected and evolving.
Pro Tips
Encourage clear, actionable contributions instead of broad or vague comments.
Prompt quieter team members with direct yet gentle questions to ensure everyone’s voice is heard.
Refer back to what was planted, pruned, and bloomed in previous retros to show progress and maintain accountability.
Ask the team to share a personal or project 'rose moment' to foster positive energy before deep dives.
FAQ
What if our notes feel repetitive from past retros?
Invite the team to explore root causes or reframe their observations to spark new insights and fresh solutions.
How do I keep 'Plant New Seeds' from turning into a wish list?
Guide the team to propose concrete experiments or small changes, and agree on what will be trialed in the next sprint.
What if the discussion lingers on 'thorns' and gets negative?
Balance the conversation by shifting focus to strengths and growth opportunities as well as challenges, keeping the tone constructive.
At a glance
- Duration
40–50 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective