🕴️🤝 Secret Summit: Trump & Putin Edition
Step into the world of international intrigue! Reflect on our team's diplomacy—strike deals on what to start, call out cold wars to stop, and maintain winning strategies. Let’s negotiate our project’s next big breakthrough!
Template Columns
🚦 Initiate Negotiations
Propose bold moves or new efforts our team should initiate, just like a summit’s first handshake.
Base column: Startâ›” Freeze Tensions
Identify practices that cause friction and should be halted, preventing any cold wars in our workflow.
Base column: Stopđź”— Maintain Alliances
Highlight strong collaborations and ongoing successes we should keep fostering, just like trusted alliances.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Secret Summit: Trump & Putin Edition retrospective invites teams to reflect on their collaboration and project strategies by drawing inspiration from diplomatic summits—proposing new initiatives, addressing friction points, and celebrating strong alliances.
When to use this template
Use this template when your team needs a creative approach to surface new ideas, resolve tensions, and reinforce positive teamwork—especially after a challenging sprint or major project milestone.
How to facilitate
Set the scene by explaining the 'secret summit' theme, inviting everyone to adopt a mindset of diplomatic negotiation and collaboration.
Review the three columns: Initiate Negotiations for new ideas to try, Freeze Tensions for friction points or unhelpful habits to halt, and Maintain Alliances for what’s working well.
Ask team members to add cards in each column silently for 5-8 minutes, encouraging both bold proposals and honest reflections.
Invite the team to group similar cards, discuss key patterns, and dig into why certain frictions or strengths keep surfacing.
Facilitate a negotiation-style discussion: prioritize which initiatives to pursue, which “cold wars” to resolve, and how to strengthen important alliances.
Agree on clear, actionable next steps for the most pressing topics, assigning owners for follow-up if needed.
Wrap up by celebrating team wins and reinforcing a culture of open and strategic dialogue.
Pro Tips
Frame the retrospective by referencing actual diplomatic successes to inspire creative, solution-oriented thinking.
If tensions surface, prompt the team to focus on outcomes and mutual benefits, not individual blame.
Encourage candid contributions by assuring psychological safety and stressing that every input is valuable.
Revisit previous 'Initiate Negotiations' or 'Freeze Tensions' actions to show progress and build trust.
FAQ
What if some team members hesitate to identify 'cold wars' or frictions?
Set ground rules for respectful discussion and allow anonymity for sensitive cards. The summit theme can help depersonalize difficult feedback.
How can we keep the negotiation discussion focused and constructive?
Have the facilitator steer the conversation toward finding feasible solutions and ensure all voices are heard without dominating the 'summit'.
Is this format suitable for distributed or remote teams?
Yes, the engaging theme and clear structure work well online—just ensure remote participants have easy tools for adding cards and joining discussions.
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At a glance
- Duration
40-55 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