Don't Ignore the Good Stuff

When it comes to retrospectives many of the teams I encounter use them to focus on problems. Although the aim of regular reflection is to support the continuous improvement of the team, this doesn't and shouldn't mean only focusing on things that aren't working. When it comes to ensuring a focus on what's working well I've observed three main behaviours:

1. Ignoring the good

In my experience focusing solely on problems can lead to retrospectives becoming tainted. They can become a session that the team identifies with negativity, leading to low energy and demotivating sessions. In the longer term a reluctance to attend and fully engage in such sessions may emerge, or even a lower team energy and morale level in general.

So, not just focusing on problems should seem obvious, it's depressing and potentially damaging.

2. Acknowledging the good

In recognition of the above some teams move into this category and will take time in their retrospectives to acknowledge things that are working well. So in collecting their retrospective data these teams will also note their successes and things that have made them happy.

This is a good start although sadly it's also where some teams stop. Acknowledging success is a good thing and can help prevent some of the problems associated with demotivation etc but on it's own it isn't enough. To fully benefit as team we need to move beyond just acknowledging the good and into the realm of understanding the good.

3. Understanding the good

Teams in this category are committed to moving themselves forward by not just understanding what isn't working well but also taking time to understand the reasons behind the things that are working well. It may seem obvious but just because something has worked well in the past doesn't mean that it will continue to work well into the future. The previous occurrence may be the result of a certain set of circumstances or conditions that fortuitously came together in a particular moment of time.

If we can understand why something happened then we're going to better positioned to try to ensure that it continues to happen going forwards. So if that something is a good thing, something that is positive for the team then it's important that we try to keep hold of it.

When moving into generating insights on collected data, don't ignore the good stuff. Spend time generating insights into that stuff also, build an understanding around it and build the ability to hold onto it and enable it going forwards.

So don't ignore the good stuff. At the very least acknowledge it. Ideally though work to understand it, keep sight of it and continue to benefit from it.