Team Retro: "What's Working" Format

Overview

Duration: 75–90 minutes Group size: 4–20 people (adapt for larger groups with breakout rooms) Format: In-person or virtual When to use: End of sprint, project, quarter, or as a periodic team health check

This retro format starts from strength — not because problems don’t exist, but because analyzing what enables success often reveals more actionable insight than dissecting what goes wrong. Problems are addressed in the second half, framed as threats to what’s already working.

Pre-Work (Send 24 Hours Before)

Share this question with participants ahead of time so they come prepared:

“Bring one story to the retro: a specific moment from the past [sprint/quarter/project] when you felt the team was operating at its best. Think about what was happening, who was involved, and what made it possible.”

For remote teams, also set up your digital board (Miro, MURAL, Jamboard, or equivalent) with the sections described below.

Agenda

1. Open — Check-In (10 min)

Prompt (go around the room, one sentence each):

“In one word or phrase: what describes how you’re showing up today?”

Keep it brief. This is a calibration, not a sharing circle. The goal is to acknowledge where people are before the work begins.

2. Celebrate — Name the Wins (15 min)

Individual: Give everyone 3 minutes to silently write answers to these two prompts on sticky notes (physical or digital):

A team win: Something the team accomplished this period that deserves recognition.
A quiet win: A contribution, decision, or behavior that went unacknowledged but mattered.

Share: Post notes on the board and read them aloud. The facilitator clusters by theme.

Note to facilitator: Resist the urge to cluster too quickly. Let people hear each other’s notes before you organize them.

3. Discover — Peak Performance Analysis (20 min)

This is the analytical core of the retro.

Prompt (small groups of 2–3, 8 minutes):

“Share the story you prepared. Tell us: What was happening? What made it work? What conditions were in place?”

Large group debrief (12 minutes):

What themes emerged from the stories?
What were the conditions that enabled peak performance? (Not just what happened — why it was possible)
Capture conditions on the board. These become the team’s operating theory.

Key facilitation question: “What would need to be true all the time for this to happen consistently?“

4. Tend — What Needs Attention (20 min)

Reframe problems as threats to what’s working.

Prompt:

“Given what we know about when this team is at its best, what one or two things most need our attention to protect and strengthen that?”

Individual: 3 minutes of silent writing. Post notes.

Group discussion (17 minutes):

Cluster the attention items.
For the top 2–3 themes, ask: What is the root cause? What specifically needs to change?
Avoid solutioning prematurely — stay in diagnosis until the group agrees on what’s really going on.

5. Commit — Action Items (10 min)

For each attention item the group prioritizes, agree on:

What	Who owns it	Done looks like	Review date

Limit to 3 action items. More than 3 rarely get done.

6. Close — Appreciation Round (5 min)

End with a brief appreciation round. Each person: one sentence naming one specific thing they appreciated about a colleague during this retro (or this sprint).

“I want to specifically appreciate [Name] for [specific thing they did or said].”

The specificity matters. “Thanks everyone for being here” is not an appreciation. A named moment is.

Facilitation Tips

On the storytelling phase: The stories in Part 3 are the data. Don’t rush past them. The more specific the story, the more useful the condition-analysis becomes. If stories are vague (“we just worked well together”), prompt for more: “What specifically were you doing? Where were you? What did you notice about how people were interacting?”

On the attention phase: If the group jumps to solutioning in Part 4, redirect: “Before we solve it, can we make sure we’ve named the real issue? What’s underneath this?”

On energy: Energy tends to drop in Part 4 after the appreciative opening. This is normal. Naming it can help: “I know this part is harder — we’re shifting from celebration to challenge. That’s okay. We can do hard things, too.”

On the appreciation close: Some groups resist this. Normalize it: “I know appreciation rounds can feel awkward. We’re doing it anyway because it matters. 30 seconds each.” Most groups end up grateful for the ritual.

Remote Adaptations

Digital board setup (Miro/MURAL):

Section 1: Check-in (text or emoji reaction)
Section 2: Sticky note clusters — “Team Wins” and “Quiet Wins”
Section 3: “Peak Moments” board + “Enabling Conditions” cluster
Section 4: “Attention Items” board
Section 5: Action item table

Async option for distributed teams: Run Sections 2 and 3 asynchronously (24-hour window) using the digital board. Participants add their stories and wins before the live call. The live session begins at Section 3’s large-group debrief, saving 20 minutes and often producing richer pre-work.

What to Watch For

Signs the retro is working:

People lean forward to hear each other’s stories
The condition-analysis produces “yes, that’s it” moments of recognition
Action items feel owned, not assigned
The appreciation close produces quiet emotion

Signs to recalibrate:

The group jumps to problems before the celebration phase is complete (slow down)
Stories stay vague (probe for specifics)
One or two voices dominate (redirect explicitly: “Who haven’t we heard from?”)
The action item list grows past 5 (prioritize ruthlessly)