How to Start Doing Team Debriefs

If debrief conversations have not been a standard part of how you've run your team, it can be awkward to get started. Here are some tips for getting over the hump and why you should.

1) Book the debrief time before the event happens.

Perhaps you're planning an event or a presentation, or there's simply a big milestone coming up. Book a debrief meeting with your team before the milestone arrives. This shows that the intention of this time is to learn and the debrief isn’t happening just because something went poorly. 

2) Lay out an egalitarian process and stay loyal to it.

Plan out a process for the debrief that gives everyone a turn to speak their mind. We recommend a round of council), where each person gets a set amount of time to answer the same question. Just as kids learn turn-taking because it works, adults can practice use this technique as well. 

Stay loyal to the process; just because someone shares something interesting or raises a question that you know the answer to, do not take the bait. Let the process of turn-taking finish. Otherwise, you compromise the integrity of the process and the team’s trust that the process can support the team in their learning -- this is psychological safety in action.

When the round of council where each team member shares their thoughts is complete, have an open team dialogue that's limited to a set amount of time and focused on a clear question. 

3) Take notes in real-time on a shared display. 

This sounds simple...so simple you might think you can skip it. Don't skip it! What this does is focus the team's attention on the notes, where the collective learning is getting recorded, rather than on each other. This represents the fact that team members are not targeting each other, but rather focused as a unit on their collective learning. A team learning together in real time is more powerful than you might imagine. As you proceed, give attention to the notes. "Let's pause so the notetaker can catch that last point." This will help keep people's attention in one place.

If you're not setting aside time for team debriefs after important events, your team is missing a huge opportunity for collective learning and alignment building. This also means that the team is not learning as much or as fast as it could. Don't miss such a huge opportunity for your team to become great!

If you'd like support on any of the steps described above, please reach out