What is the Joy, Fear, Excitement retrospective?
The Joy, Fear, Excitement retrospective is a great choice for a team looking for a positive and energizing retrospective exercise that looks at emotions as well as factual data.
By asking team members to reflect on how their work makes them feel, it can reveal the human side and vulnerability of team members, which can help build trust and empathy among the team.
The retrospective is a “positivity sandwich” because it starts and ends with positive emotions (joy and excitement), with the fear section sandwiched in the middle. This structure helps to balance the negative emotions with positive ones, which can help to create a more constructive atmosphere for the meeting.
The retrospective is also forward-looking as well as backward-looking, as it encourages team members to think about what they want to feel more of (joy and excitement) and less of (fear) in the future. This can help to create a more actionable plan for the team to work on moving forward.
The retrospective can be used as a main retrospective or as an add-on to a meeting. It’s a good choice for a team that wants to check in with each other emotionally and build a more positive and supportive team culture.
How to run the Joy, Fear, Excitement retrospective in Metro Retro
Running the retrospective:
- Set up the Metro Retro board from the template, which includes the three areas for Joy, Fear, and Excitement.
- Ask team members to think about how they feel about the current sprint or project and to write their points for each area. Use Metro Retro’s private writing feature for participants to write their sticky notes in private, then reveal when ready.
- Have team members take turns revealing and explaining their points. Group similar points with the Topic tool.
- Discuss the results as a team and ask follow-up questions to gain a deeper understanding of each team member’s emotions.
- Use the results of the retrospective to create a plan of action to address any concerns or issues that were raised.
Tips for running this as an online collaborative meeting:
- Use a video conferencing tool in conjunction with Metro Retro to allow for face-to-face interaction.
- Make sure everyone has equal opportunity to participate by using the timer or a turn-taking system.
- Encourage open and honest communication by creating a safe and non-judgmental environment.
- Follow up on action items to show the team the exercise is worthwhile.
Overall, the Joy, Fear, Excitement retrospective is a powerful tool for teams looking to connect on a deeper emotional level and create a more positive and productive working environment.
