🍂 September Harvest
As the leaves begin to turn, let's gather the fruits of our team's labor, weed out what hinders us, and prepare for a bountiful new season. Reflect, share, and let's nurture a thriving project together!
Template Columns
🌱 Plant New Seeds
Identify fresh ideas, habits, or practices we should start cultivating this season.
Base column: Start🍁 Let Leaves Fall
Highlight practices or blockers we need to shed like autumn leaves for a healthier team.
Base column: Stop🌻 Reap the Rewards
Celebrate the habits and successes we want to continue nurturing through the September season.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The September Harvest retrospective invites teams to celebrate accomplishments, eliminate unhelpful habits, and plant new ideas for growth as they reflect on recent work.
When to use this template
Use this format at the end of a major sprint, milestone, or as fall approaches to inspire renewal and improvement. It's ideal for teams aiming to acknowledge achievements and refresh their ways of working.
How to facilitate
Kick off with a brief welcome, explaining the theme and encouraging open, constructive sharing.
Ask each team member to add thoughts to the Plant New Seeds column, focusing on new habits or ideas the team could try.
Guide the team to reflect on what to Let Leaves Fall, discussing blockers, unhelpful practices, or habits to drop for better performance.
Move to the Reap the Rewards column, inviting the team to highlight and celebrate successful practices, wins, and habits worth continuing.
Review each column together, encouraging discussion and clarifying any points of confusion or overlap.
Prioritize actions and agree on a few clear next steps, assigning owners where possible.
Close the session by summarizing key takeaways and offering gratitude for everyone's candor and effort.
Pro Tips
Use the autumn theme to foster a relaxed, reflective mood—consider starting with a fun seasonal icebreaker.
Encourage team members to share specific examples instead of general comments to prompt deeper discussion.
During the Let Leaves Fall discussion, focus on constructive feedback rather than airing grievances.
In the Reap the Rewards step, actively celebrate both small and large successes to boost morale.
FAQ
What if the team is hesitant to name practices to let go?
Model vulnerability yourself, and remind everyone that continuous improvement means letting go of what’s not working—it's not about blame.
How do we avoid the session becoming all about problems?
Balance the discussion by spending equal or more time on successes and new possibilities than on what didn't work.
How can we ensure new ideas actually get tried?
Assign owners to promising action items and make a plan to follow up at the next retrospective.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective