🌱 Team Growth Spurt
Welcome, new team members! Let’s nurture our collaboration garden—discuss what to plant (start), prune (stop), and keep flourishing (continue) as we grow together into a strong unit.
Template Columns
🌱 Plant New Seeds
Suggest fresh ideas or actions we should start to help our new team thrive.
Base column: Start✂️ Prune the Weeds
Identify habits or obstacles we should stop to foster a healthy team environment.
Base column: Stop🌼 Keep Watering
Share the positive practices and strengths we should continue to nurture as a new team.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Team Growth Spurt retrospective welcomes new members and helps teams focus on what to start, stop, and continue to foster strong collaboration from the start.
When to use this template
Best used when a team has recently formed or onboarded new members, to quickly establish healthy collaboration habits and build trust.
How to facilitate
Introduce the purpose of the retrospective, emphasizing the gardening theme and the importance of team growth.
Review each column—Plant New Seeds (start), Prune the Weeds (stop), and Keep Watering (continue)—and explain what type of feedback belongs in each.
Give each team member a few minutes to add ideas to the columns in Kollabe; encourage open-mindedness and constructive suggestions.
Invite team members to silently read through and group similar items, either as a group or using collaboration features in the tool.
Facilitate a discussion, exploring each theme, celebrating positives, and collaboratively discussing priorities for starts and stops.
Guide the team in selecting 2-3 action items for the next iteration, assigning owners where possible.
Close by appreciating everyone’s insights and welcoming thoughts from new team members on how to keep the environment supportive.
Pro Tips
Ask newer team members to share first in each round—it helps them integrate and encourages openness.
Frame suggestions as ‘experiments’ to promote a safe-to-try mindset, especially when starting new practices.
If the group is large, use breakout rooms to ensure everyone’s voice is heard without rushing.
Follow up on previous action items briefly to model commitment and continuity.
FAQ
What if new team members are hesitant to speak up?
Invite them to add ideas anonymously or in small groups first, then gradually build up to sharing in the wider team.
How do we avoid overwhelming ourselves with too many action items?
Focus discussion on picking just two or three actionable ideas per session and revisit long lists later as you grow together.
What if the same issues come up repeatedly?
Acknowledge recurring themes, prioritize the most pressing, and try new approaches or involve a facilitator if change stalls.
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 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