Winter Wonderland

As snowflakes gently fell outside our HQ windows, the team's suggestion to organize a team-building skating event on our frozen pond sparked my inspiration. It led me to create a winter wonderland-themed retrospective, which I'm more than willing to share. The retro format includes several wintry questions that prompt reflection on fresh team topics that are sometimes overlooked, while still leaving room for open topic discussions.

Ingredients

• Printed posters or Mural Board
• Sticky notes and pens
• Your awesome team

Retrospective (1h30)

Ice breaker (15 min)

"What makes you unique? Just like snowflakes, no two are the same."

This warm-up question engages participants by encouraging self-reflection in a positive manner and simultaneously serves as a tool for fostering better understanding among colleagues. This combination contributes to a positive and interactive atmosphere within the team.

Previous action points (15 min)

Before delving into new topics, the team revisits the action points from the previous retrospective. This emphasizes that these retrospectives are not intended to be fun alone, or should not be considered as time-wasters, but in fact bring value to the team.

Let it go and let it snow (45 min)

Give the team a few minutes to jot down topics on their sticky notes related to the questions on the posters.

These are the questions shown on the posters:

• Snowman building: How can we further promote teamwork?
• Lost glove: What have we almost forgotten under the snow blanket?
• Ice: Where do we have to be careful not to slip?
• Hot cocoa: What warms us up again?
• Falling snow: What are the topics that swirl around in your head?

For teams that may need encouragement, suggest choosing at least two posters they need to add a sticky note to. Once everyone has added their notes, the team can discuss the sticky notes one at a time.

Summarize action points (10 min)

Throughout the topic discussions, the team formulates actions aimed at improving processes and tools, with the goal of bringing the team closer to becoming the most efficient they can be. Summarizing these actions enables the team to align and address any remaining uncertainties.

If there are numerous action points, try to prioritize based on the team's decisions, and focus on the most important ones.

Rate the retro (5 min)

Finally, the team evaluates the retrospective. This is done efficiently by each participant raising their hand and, on the count of three, showing a specific number of fingers, indicating their rating on a scale from 1 to 5 snowflakes. This provides valuable insight to the facilitator, indicating how well the retrospective aligned with the team's needs.

Follow-up

The topics and action points discussed and formulated during the retrospective hold great value, but they would be wasted if they remain untouched.

Often, the team will already have a main location to place the retrospective notes. Pay close attention to the action points and consider highlighting them or placing them in a separate section. To ensure their effectiveness, follow up on the action points, take necessary actions, and track progress. Revisit them in the next retrospective to assess their implementation and discuss any outcomes or learnings. By doing so, you can maximize the impact of the retrospective and drive positive change within the team.

Personal experience with the format

As I work with hybrid teams, this session was organized remotely, utilizing Mural to make it interactive.

The team appreciated the cozy theme of this retro. Although it started out a bit rough as the team found the icebreaker question challenging, incorporating unique elements sparked inspiration among certain team members. For those who struggled to come up with something for themselves, I encouraged the team to help out. This increased interaction even more. The icebreaker session brought forth interesting facts and created moments of laughter, contributing to a better understanding of the different team members.

Overall, this retrospective format received a rating of four or more, which is a great score that encourages me to continue experimenting with creative formats.