💍🌋 Lord of the Retrospective Rings
Embark on an epic journey through Middle-earth to reflect on your team’s adventures. Share tales of triumph, moments that felt like Mount Doom, and chart your fellowship's path to success! Let’s leave no stone unturned in our quest for greatness.
Template Columns
🌱 The Shire’s Seeds
List new initiatives or actions your team should start to grow like the lush fields of the Shire.
Base column: Start🛑 The Dark Forces
Identify what practices or behaviors need to be stopped – as if casting them into the fires of Mount Doom.
Base column: Stop🔗 The Fellowship’s Bond
Highlight the processes and actions that strengthen your team and must continue, just like the camaraderie of the Fellowship.
Base column: Continue🔄 Gandalf’s Wisdom
Reflect on what should change and evolve, inspired by Gandalf’s transformative guidance.
Base column: ChangeAbout this template
A fantasy-themed retrospective inspired by the journey through Middle-earth, helping teams explore actions to start, stop, continue, and change for collective success.
When to use this template
Use this retrospective when your team can benefit from a creative and reflective session to discuss performance and improvements in a novel context.
How to facilitate
Begin by introducing the theme and context, setting the scene of an epic journey through Middle-earth to explore your team's progress.
Explain the four columns (The Shire's Seeds, The Dark Forces, The Fellowship’s Bond, and Gandalf’s Wisdom) and how to use them.
Allow 5-10 minutes for team members to brainstorm and add their notes to each column individually.
Spend 15 minutes discussing the cards in each category, ensuring everyone's perspectives are heard, starting with positive contributions.
Facilitate a decision-making session to consolidate key actions and insights identified during the discussion.
Close by summarizing the team's decisions and encourage alignment towards the determined goals.
Thank the team, emphasizing the collaborative effort made during the session.
Pro Tips
Immerse the team in the theme by engaging them with creative storytelling during the introduction.
Encourage every team member to contribute at least one card to each column to ensure balanced input.
Balance the discussion between challenges and strengths to maintain a constructive tone.
Check in with quieter team members to ensure their thoughts are expressed.
FAQ
What if the team is not familiar with the Lord of the Rings theme?
Adjust the thematic terms to be more neutral while maintaining the concept of reflecting on what to start, stop, continue, and change.
How do I maintain focus during the discussion?
Set clear time limits for each column discussion and gently steer the conversation back if it deviates.
At a glance
- Duration
60 minutes
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
4 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue, Change
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective