What is a sailboat retrospective meeting?
A sailboat retrospective meeting is a creative and engaging team exercise designed to promote open dialogue, collaboration, and problem-solving within a group. It starts with imagining your team as a sailboat embarking on a journey. Then, the retrospective uses certain imagery to help you review a recent sprint or project in a creative way. The wind represents positive forces pushing you forward, the anchor represents negative forces holding your team back, and rocks represent potential risks that lie ahead. This imaginative framework helps teams gain a deeper understanding of their dynamics, identify and address obstacles, and proactively manage risks.
Taking notes during a sailboat retrospective meeting is essential to capture valuable insights and action items that can lead to improved productivity and stronger team cohesion.
Tips for writing effective sailboat retrospective meeting notes
1. Highlight key insights: Note down the most significant positive forces (the wind), negative forces (the anchor), and potential risks (the rocks) identified during the meeting. Be concise and specific in your descriptions.
2. Actionable items: Record actionable items and solutions that emerge from the discussion. These can include plans to address negative forces, ways to harness positive forces, and strategies to mitigate risks.
3. Capture emotions and sentiments: Don't just document facts; also capture the emotions and sentiments expressed by team members. Understanding how the team feels about certain issues can provide valuable context.
4. Keep it simple: Use straightforward language and avoid corporate jargon. Keep your notes concise and to the point, making them accessible to all team members.
What's inside the template?
Our sailboat retrospective meeting agenda template comes fully equipped to guide you through this collaborative exercise.
The key components include:
- The boat: Your team aiming for a destination—your project or sprint goal.
- The wind: Positive forces propelling you forward.
- The anchor: Negative forces creating drag.
- The rocks: Potential future risks or obstacles.
The agenda also outlines a step-by-step exercise to facilitate the discussion, from setting the scene and brainstorming to voting and action planning. Tailor-made sections to jot down positive forces, negative forces, and risks make it easy to organize thoughts and create action plans.
Ready to set sail?
To make the most of your sailboat retrospective meeting, use this template to guide your note-taking. It will help you visually capture the essence of the discussion, highlight key insights, and record actionable items. By using this template, your team can steer toward improved productivity and smoother sailing. Give it a try in your next retrospective session.
Browse our other retrospective templates.
