Ritual Reset in action
This team used Mural to audit and visualize their team activities while meeting over Zoom.
Using the Trello Voting Power-Up, this team voted on which of their rituals to keep, improve or remove.
Using Confluence, this team documents follow ups and assigns owners at the end of the meeting.
What you'll need
Remote
Video conferencing with screen sharing
Digital collaboration tool (see templates)
In-Person
Meeting space
Whiteboard, or large sheet of paper
Markers
Sticky notes
Stickers for voting
Timer
Optional templates
Atlassian Templates
Instructions for running this Play
1. Prep 10 MIN
For remote teams, start by creating a new collaboration document, like a Trello board (see templates above). For in-person teams, prepare a large sheet of paper or a whiteboard.
Create 4-5 columns or headers and label them with increasing time intervals from left to right (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, bi-weekly, quarterly, etc). Then create rows or labels that read “Full team” and “Part of team.”
Finally, create a new table or group of lists and label them “Keep,” “Improve” and “Remove.”
Prior to the meeting, appoint one person to document outcomes and action items.
TIP: ALL HANDS
Invite team members who work together often, including managers. The “reset” will be more relevant after the meeting if the full team participates in the discussion.
2. Set the stage 10 MIN
Set the ground rules for the meeting:
- There are no “right” or “wrong” answers
- Always assume positive intent
Restate the purpose of the Play: to examine the team’s regular working rituals and decide what to keep, improve or remove.
Next, define “ritual” and provide a few examples. Loosely, a ritual is a repeated activity in service of the team or organization. Some examples include:
- a recurring team meeting
- a planning process
- a team social hour
- a status report for the CEO
It can be strictly work, strictly social or a mix of both.
Then, ask the team to consider: What makes a successful ritual for this team? Record answers in a place participants can access throughout the Play.
TIP: INTENTION
Ask the team what they hope to get out this exercise. If it’s “reduce our time in meetings,” revisit this goal at the end of the session.
EXAMPLE: SUCCESSFUL RITUALS
See how one team defined successful rituals.
3. Audit 20 MIN
Set a timer and ask the group to silently audit all rituals.
For remote teams, ask team members to add each ritual to the space in the digital whiteboard. For in-person teams, have everyone jot down rituals on sticky notes and add them to the whiteboard or paper.
Go through and group similar rituals and identify any gaps that might exist.
TIP: YOUR CALENDAR
Prompt the team to look back at their calendars from the last few weeks or months to jog their memories.
TIP: MIND THE GAP
Help your team by offering them some categories of work rituals: sprint planning, skill-building, providing feedback, reporting and quality assurance.
4. Vote 10 MIN
Give the team some time to review the audit and vote:
- Which rituals should we keep?
- Which rituals should we improve?
- Which rituals should we remove?
Allow everyone around five votes per round.
Remind the group how they defined a successful ritual up front.
TIP: MAKE A CHANGE
Teams might find that some meetings or reports to leadership are impossible to remove completely. Challenge participants to reimagine the ritual in a way that is more effective for them while still serving the ritual’s intended purpose.
5. Actions 50 MIN
Once all votes are in, discuss and document next steps for the top 3-5 rituals in each category.
Some questions to prompt actions:
- For the top rituals we should keep, how do we ensure they continue to be effective?
- For the top rituals we should improve, what is one thing we can try to make them better?
- For the top rituals we should remove, who will remove them from everyone’s calendars?
TIP: MOVE IT ALONG
If the group cannot come to consensus on how best to improve a ritual, assign a team member to investigate a solution after the session and move on to the next ritual.
TIP: @ MENTION
Be clear on action owners and timing.
Try this format: WHO will do WHAT by WHEN
Follow-up
Check in
Connect with the group 3-4 weeks later. See if ritual changes made a difference. How is the team doing? Consider running this Play annually, bi-annually or as the team make-up or responsibilities change.
Variations
Prework
Shorten the meeting to 60 minutes by asking participants to audit rituals beforehand. Prior to voting and discussing, give the team one more opportunity to add any they may have missed.
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