🐢 Turtle Trek
Slow and steady wins the race! In this turtle-inspired retro, reflect on your team’s journey—what helps you move forward, what slows you down, and how to glide smoothly toward delivery. Shell-ebrate progress and plan your next steps!
Template Columns
🌱 New Shoots
Discuss new habits or practices we should start to help our team grow steadily.
Base column: Start🐚 Heavy Shells
Identify habits or obstacles that weigh us down and need to be left behind.
Base column: Stop🌊 Smooth Glides
Celebrate and commit to ongoing actions that keep us moving with grace and consistency.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Turtle Trek retrospective helps teams reflect on steady, sustainable progress by identifying new ways to grow, obstacles slowing them down, and strengths to keep building on.
When to use this template
Use this retrospective when your team wants to focus on long-term improvement, balance pace, and address persistent blockers. It's especially effective after a demanding sprint or when steady progress feels challenging.
How to facilitate
Welcome the team and set the tone by sharing the turtle-inspired theme, emphasizing the value of steady, sustainable progress.
Review the retro columns and invite team members to silently add their thoughts to each: 'New Shoots' for new habits or practices, 'Heavy Shells' for things to drop, and 'Smooth Glides' for effective routines to keep.
Allow time for everyone to review and group similar items together, discussing common themes or surprises.
Facilitate an open conversation for each column—start with 'New Shoots', then 'Heavy Shells', then 'Smooth Glides'—prompting for examples and clarifications as needed.
Guide the team to prioritize 2-3 actionable steps based on insights from the discussion.
Decide on owners or checkpoints for each action item to ensure steady follow-through.
Close the session with a quick round of appreciation, spotlighting progress or teamwork from the sprint.
Pro Tips
Use relatable turtle imagery or stories at the start to spark engagement and keep energy light.
Prompt the team to think in terms of habits and systems, not just one-time occurrences.
Encourage quieter team members by using anonymous input tools or round-robin sharing.
Connect 'Heavy Shells' items directly to process bottlenecks the team can address together.
Reflect on past retrospectives to highlight recurring 'Smooth Glides' for added motivation.
FAQ
What if the team has trouble thinking of new habits for 'New Shoots'?
Try prompting with recent challenges or suggest looking at other successful teams for inspiration. Sometimes sharing examples can get ideas flowing.
How do we avoid the same 'Heavy Shells' showing up every time without change?
Discuss why these obstacles persist and brainstorm what’s blocking action—be honest about ownership, resources, or mindsets holding the team back.
Is this template suitable for high-performing or mature teams?
Yes, the focus on sustainable improvement and celebration encourages even experienced teams to refine habits and prevent complacency.
At a glance
- Duration
35–50 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