🕊️ Path to Peace
Let’s embark on a tranquil journey, reflecting on the harmony in our teamwork. Seek where we brought serenity, what created turbulence, and how we can nurture a peaceful, productive sprint. Let’s cultivate calm and collaboration!
Template Columns
🌱 Plant New Seeds
Suggest new habits or actions that will foster a more peaceful and harmonious workflow.
Base column: Start🚫 Calm the Storms
Highlight practices or behaviors that disrupted our team's serenity, and consider letting them go.
Base column: Stop🧘♂️ Embrace Tranquility
Share the peaceful practices and habits worth maintaining to keep our teamwork harmonious.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Path to Peace retrospective helps teams reflect on harmonious teamwork by identifying what fosters calm, what causes disruption, and how to nurture a serene, collaborative environment.
When to use this template
Use this format after intense sprints, during periods of team stress, or whenever your group needs to refocus on psychological safety, harmony, and effective collaboration.
How to facilitate
Welcome the team and set the tone by emphasizing psychological safety and the goal of cultivating a peaceful sprint environment.
Explain each column: Plant New Seeds for new habits, Calm the Storms for disruptive practices to stop, and Embrace Tranquility for effective, peaceful habits to continue.
Invite team members to add reflections to each column individually and silently for a few minutes.
Review submitted items together, grouping similar ideas and clarifying when needed.
Facilitate an open discussion, exploring underlying causes of turbulence and celebrating sources of serenity.
Guide the group in selecting a few concrete actions based on the reflections, assigning owners where relevant.
Close by acknowledging the team’s commitment to harmony, and encourage everyone to check in on their well-being regularly.
Pro Tips
Use calm, relaxing background music (low volume) to set a tranquil atmosphere at the start.
Prompt participants to share even small actions that promoted calm—these often make the biggest difference over time.
When discussing turbulence, focus on behaviors and processes, not individuals, to keep the space safe and constructive.
Encourage follow-up by revisiting agreed-upon actions in the next retrospective.
FAQ
How can we keep the conversation focused on team habits rather than personal traits?
Remind participants to phrase feedback about behaviors and processes, not individuals, and step in to gently reframe any personal comments if necessary.
What if the team struggles to identify positive practices?
Prompt with examples from past sprints or invite the team to think of moments that felt easier or more enjoyable, however small.
How can we maintain actionability when fostering peace might feel abstract?
Translate broad aspirations (like more empathy) into specific actions (such as a daily check-in or clear communication boundaries) so follow-up is concrete.
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At a glance
- Duration
35–50 min
- Team Size
3-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective