I really appreciated the three pillar approach in this post: availability, meaningfulness, psychological safety. It humanizes what can often get packaged into an overly "cookbook" style framework to manage for success because humans don't actually respond optimally if one of these is missing.
Leading retros, especially in the thick of something really going sideways, I have found there to be benefit from these prompts:
We all know ___________ went wrong. (Acknowledges that things can go wrong and sets a baseline shared understanding of the problem.)
I’d like to know more about where/how we struggled to deliver and why. (Acknowledges that I might not have all the information, nuance, context, etc. and want to know more about our pain points, blockers, etc.)
Let's talk about what we can do better next time. (Acknowledges that problem-solving and continuous improvement are a team sport and everyone can make a recommendation.)
Great post. Walking the walk is so important. I’ve seen many companies agonize over selecting their core values only to completely disregard them once crisis hits!
I really appreciated the three pillar approach in this post: availability, meaningfulness, psychological safety. It humanizes what can often get packaged into an overly "cookbook" style framework to manage for success because humans don't actually respond optimally if one of these is missing.
Leading retros, especially in the thick of something really going sideways, I have found there to be benefit from these prompts:
We all know ___________ went wrong. (Acknowledges that things can go wrong and sets a baseline shared understanding of the problem.)
I’d like to know more about where/how we struggled to deliver and why. (Acknowledges that I might not have all the information, nuance, context, etc. and want to know more about our pain points, blockers, etc.)
Let's talk about what we can do better next time. (Acknowledges that problem-solving and continuous improvement are a team sport and everyone can make a recommendation.)
That’s a really useful resource, I’ll definitely try it next time something goes wrong! (Hopefully in the very very distant future 🤣)
Great post. Walking the walk is so important. I’ve seen many companies agonize over selecting their core values only to completely disregard them once crisis hits!
Thanks for the feedback! I couldn't agree more - it's easy to say nice things when it's smooth sailing...
Brilliant! As a communications professional I always say actions speak louder than words - especially in a crisis.
Thank you for the feedback! I agree, it does feel quite innate, perhaps less ‘noble’ compared to how we like to think of ourselves