Hear from Meallie In-Suy, one of our product management consultants.
It’s Friday afternoon. Sprint review is done. One last thing: the retrospective.
You made it! Your sprint is finally over. But there’s one final ritual before you can call it a day: the retrospective.
In the past, I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum: engaged teams, but also tired ones that simply want to get that exercise out of the way and make it to the finish line.
One thing I have always believed is that the icebreaker sets the tone for the next hour and a half. It warms up minds, breaks up the distance, and makes everyone feel a little more human, even though hundreds of kilometres set you apart when you are working remotely.
My suggestions for better icebreakers (and retros that don’t feel like a chore):
The pre-requisites:
- Showing up = showing yourself → No one likes talking to a wall. And even more when this time is meant for opening up. Encourage everyone to turn on their cameras. There can be exceptions, but the rule is simple. If you are in the room, be in the room.
- Make sure everyone feels safe → Open the ceremony with a quick reminder: what happens here stays here. There’s no room for judgment, and nothing will be shared outside of that round unless there’s an agreement.
- No forced interaction → You can’t expect everyone to be in the mood to open up. It reminds me of that one time I asked a team right before the Christmas break to share what they were looking forward to for the holiday season. The first person to answer blankly said “nothing”. Well.. that was awkward and definitely not helpful. But honest. In such situations, let that person be. Forcing can also harm your ceremony and influence other people’s mood.
- Keep it light → A retro is not a sprint review. It is about how we worked: it federates and contributes to a “we” feeling. We look back at how we achieved things together, and we build a safe space together. Give people a moment to breathe and also a good laugh if you can. Work should be fun, and sometimes, talking about something other than our daily struggles or that never-ending initiative helps us have a clearer judgment on it later on.
Be creative and do not overly reuse the same icebreakers. Here are some that worked well for me:
- The scavenger hunt - Invite your team to “Find the [coziest / quirkiest / most unusual / most nostalgic] item in your home and share its story.” You’ll see that people can be very creative!
- The meme challenge - Give your team 2 minutes to find the perfect meme that captures their current mood. A classic and always work a little magic.
- The round of admiration - Everyone shares one thing they admire about someone on the team.
- The stretch break - Get out of your chair and show us your go-to stretch move for an energised day.
- Guess who? - Everyone submits one fun fact beforehand. Then the team tries to guess who’s who. (Works with teams that know each other a bit)
And if they don’t work and you end up sitting in awkward silences, that’s also fine. Give yourself credit for trying. You are not an entertainer after all. Most people will appreciate the effort you’ve put in, even if they don’t show it right away. 😌
❓ What do you think? What’s worked for your team when it comes to retros and remote connection?
