Retro recipe

Exploring Our Unique Personalities

Posted on the 25th of April 2023 by

People are the backbone of any successful team, yet they are often overlooked during retrospectives. Instead, we tend to focus more on processes and tools, falling into a pattern that inhibits our growth. In this retro recipe, we'll break free from that pattern and shift our attention to the people of our team. By taking a people-first approach, we can unlock our team's full potential and achieve greater success.

Ingredients

Preparation

To ensure a meaningful and personalized retrospective experience, we're asking everyone to complete a short personality test ahead of time. This will give them a unique 5-letter code (such as ISFJ-T), that we'll use throughout the retrospective. This requires 10–30 minutes of preparation for every individual (depending on the personality).

However, it's important to note that these tests aren't perfect and can sometimes even be inaccurate. That's why we'll have a dedicated section later in the retrospective where you can share how accurate (or inaccurate) you feel the test was for you.

Once you've completed the test and received your code, simply send it to the moderator, who will use it to tailor the icebreaker and other parts of the retrospective. In each section of the retrospective, you'll see what you need to prepare for it as a moderator.

Retrospective (1 hour)

Icebreaker: Mastermind (15 min)

Preparation for the moderator: Take the codes provided by each team member and look them up here. When you click on a personality type and scroll down, you will see a list of famous people who share the same traits. Using this list, add a famous person to the mural for each team member based on their code. Be sure to keep track of who is associated with which famous person in a separate document to make it easier to facilitate the activity later on. By taking the time to personalize this activity for each team member, you'll create a more engaging and fun retrospective experience that everyone can enjoy.

Let's kick off this retrospective with a fun game to get everyone warmed up and ready to open up. We'll be playing a variation of the classic game Mastermind.

Here's how it works: the team can asynchronously match a famous person to someone else on the team based on their personality code. Once all the famous people have been mapped to the team members, the moderator will cross-check with their document to see if it's correct. If multiple team members have the same personality code, it's correct as long as at least one of the related famous people is present.

If any famous people have been matched incorrectly, the moderator will move them to the top again, and the game will continue until everyone is matched to the correct famous person associated with their personality code. This fun and interactive game will help break the ice and set the tone for a productive and enjoyable retrospective.

Overview of the team (25 min)

Preparation for the moderator: First, add a post-it to the appropriate personality type on the circle for each team member. This will give us a clear visual overview of the team's different personality types.

Next, add the "Colleagues" section for each personality type to the mural. You can find this by clicking on the personality type, navigating to "Workplace Habits" on the left, and scrolling down to the "Colleagues" section. Be sure to add the names of team members who have that personality type.

Finally, add a post-it with each team member's name on the right-hand side of the star system. This will allow them to easily drag their name to the appropriate number of stars when rating their agreement with the text.

After mapping each team member to their respective famous person, we'll have an overview of the team's various personality types. This will allow us to see the diverse range of personalities that make up our team.

Next, we'll dive into each personality type by reading the section on "Colleagues" associated with that personality. Team members who relate to that particular personality type will then rate how much they agree with the text on the right-hand side using a star system.

It's important to note that this exercise is not about the accuracy of the personality test, but rather an opportunity to gain insights into how team members perceive themselves and others. We'll take some time to discuss why they gave a certain rating, what they agree with, and where they might disagree.

We'll repeat this process for each personality type represented in the team, ensuring that we hear from everyone and gain a deeper understanding of each team member's perspective.

Challenge vs Expertise (15 min)

The final part of our retrospective will require courage and openness from each team member. During this exercise, the team will have 2 minutes to place themselves on a scale related to their level of expertise and how challenged they feel in their work. The moderator will first explain the different areas on the graph:

  • The flow area in the middle represents a balance between expertise and challenge.
  • Below the flow, there is the boredom area for those who feel less challenged and stuck in a repetitive routine.
  • At the bottom, we have the boreout area where individuals are at risk of feeling unchallenged and disengaged.
  • Above the flow, the anxiety area is for those who may feel overwhelmed by challenges that exceed their level of expertise.
  • Finally, the burnout area on the left is where individuals may feel at risk of burning out because they are challenged excessively.

Once everyone has filled in the graph, we will have an overview of the team's position and see how each member relates to one another. It's essential to ask if anyone would like to discuss their placement in the group, either during the retro or afterwards. It's crucial to create a safe space where people feel comfortable sharing their feelings without feeling anxious or judged.

As an Agile Coach or as a team, this graph is an excellent tool for reflection and action. We can use it to identify potential challenges for individuals in the anxiety/burnout area and to offer more significant challenges to those in the boredom/bore out area.

Rate the Retro (5 min)

Finally, we come to the last step of the retro, which is to rate the session. This gives us a clear idea of how the team felt about the retrospective and whether it was a success.

To do this, the team members place a post-it note on the appropriate number of stars to indicate their rating. This feedback is valuable to us and helps us understand what we did well and where we can improve in the future.

If they have any specific feedback to improve the next retrospective, they can add it to the post-it note as well. We value everyone's input and strive to make every retrospective better than the last.

Follow-up

This retro is particularly important to follow up on, especially when looking at the expertise and challenge graph. It's essential to reach out to team members who are not in the flow area to determine where you can provide assistance in increasing or decreasing their level of challenge. Additionally, it's crucial to pay attention to those who were not comfortable or open during the retro and follow up with them afterwards to better understand their concerns. By doing so, you can create a safe and supportive environment for your team to continue to grow and excel.