š¼š§ Severance Lab Retrospective
Step into the world of Lumon Industries! Separate your work from your worries and reflect on our project, Severance-style. Letās identify breakthroughs, missteps, and improvements as if weāre both āinniesā and āoutiesāāseeking a perfectly harmonious workflow.
Template Columns
āØ Lumon Achievements
Celebrate team successes and milestone moments that made our Severance journey better.
Base column: What Went Wellš£ Missed Protocols
Reveal obstacles or missteps that disrupted our ideal workflow, just like a malfunction in the Break Room.
Base column: What Went Wrongš Work-Life Refinements
Suggest ways to improve our teamās balance, productivity, and well-being both inside and outside of work.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
The Severance Lab Retrospective uses creative Lumon Industries themes to separate and examine work achievements, missteps, and opportunities for work-life improvements. It encourages teams to reflect deeply on both successes and challenges while focusing on continuous team well-being.
When to use this template
Use this template after significant project phases or sprints, especially if team balance, culture, or workflow harmony has come into focus. It's ideal when you want to encourage honest dialogue around wins, setbacks, and systemic improvements.
How to facilitate
Set the tone by introducing the Severance-inspired theme and explain the purpose behind each column as it relates to work-life balance.
Begin with Lumon Achievements: invite team members to share successes, proud moments, or breakthrough improvements they observed during the project.
Move to Missed Protocols: encourage candid discussion about missteps, delays, process breakdowns, or blockers that disrupted the ideal flow.
Shift to Work-Life Refinements: ask the team for actionable suggestions to improve balance, team collaboration, productivity, and overall well-being going forward.
Group and discuss similar cards in each column, prioritizing collective insights and shared experiences.
Collaboratively vote on the most impactful ideas for process or culture improvements, then decide on 1ā2 concrete action items.
Summarize key learnings and next steps, closing with a quick round of personal reflectionsāhow will these insights help your 'innie' and 'outie' selves?
Pro Tips
Use creative visuals or background music from Severance to set the mood and spark engagement.
Prompt quieter team members with direct but gentle questions so all voices are heard.
Allow a few moments for silent reflection before each column to encourage deeper insights.
Frame missteps as learning momentsāavoid blame to keep the discussion productive.
Capture action items with clear owners and timelines to ensure progress after the session.
FAQ
How should I handle sensitive issues that come up in Missed Protocols?
Acknowledge the issue, guide the discussion toward solutions, and remind the team to focus on process, not people. Offer private follow-ups if needed.
What if the team struggles to come up with Work-Life Refinements?
Prompt with examples such as flexible deadlines, meeting-free days, or new collaboration tools. Encourage thinking about both in-office and remote working experiences.
How do I ensure we follow up on action items?
Record action items with assigned owners and deadlines. Schedule a check-in at the next meeting and make the follow-up part of your team norms.
Can this template be used with teams unfamiliar with Severance?
Yes, simply introduce the theme as a fun lens for self-reflection. Offer a quick summary of the premise to help everyone engage with the format.
At a glance
- Duration
45ā60 min
- Team Size
4-10 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