🪴 Plant Growth Journey
Let’s tend to our project garden! Celebrate thriving blooms, uproot weeds, and plant seeds for future improvements as we nurture our team's growth together.
Template Columns
🌱 Healthy Sprouts
Celebrate the parts of our project that flourished and helped us grow strong roots.
Base column: What Went Well🪲 Garden Pests
Identify obstacles or setbacks—the pests that hindered our progress.
Base column: What Went Wrong🌻 Seeds to Sow
Suggest new habits or experiments to help our team flourish next season.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
A garden-themed retrospective that celebrates successes, uncovers obstacles, and plants ideas for future growth.
When to use this template
Use when the team wants a fresh, visual way to reflect on progress and plan improvements, especially after a sprint or project phase.
How to facilitate
Introduce the garden metaphor, explain the three columns, and set a positive tone for the session
Ask participants to silently add virtual sticky notes to the Healthy Sprouts column describing what flourished
Group similar sprout notes, discuss why they succeeded and what contributed to the growth
Repeat the silent writing and discussion for the Garden Pests column, encouraging honest identification of blockers
Move to Seeds to Sow, have the team brainstorm new habits, experiments, or improvements as seed ideas
Vote or prioritize the top three seeds, assign owners, and close with a quick gratitude round
Pro Tips
Use colored virtual stickers to match the column colors for visual consistency
Limit each participant to a few items per column to keep discussion focused
Turn the top seeds into small, time‑boxed experiments for the next sprint
FAQ
What if the team struggles to find positive items for Healthy Sprouts?
Prompt them to think about small wins, learning moments, or any process that felt smoother than before; even minor improvements count.
How do we handle dominant voices during discussion?
Use a round‑robin format or set a timer for each speaker to ensure balanced participation.
Can we combine this with other retrospective formats?
Yes, you can start with Plant Growth Journey and finish with a classic action‑item list to capture commitments.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
What Went Well, What Went Wrong, What We Want to Improve
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective