Why this matters
Every team needs a kickstarter, but what’s just as important is to do re-launches (this playbook works for both) when you need them, or even better before you need them.
A team relaunch is a long, focused moment taken to look intensely at where your team is at. Everything is on the table – purpose, vision, feelings, behaviours and ways of working. Every team that wants to put learning right at the heart of team culture needs to keep doing health checks on where they are at and what they need from each other.
Take this time to lean back into the team dynamic and make sure you are still greater than the sum of your parts.
How to run it
- 1
Set the scene for a psychologically safe session, actively say that everything is on the table and this is too important for people to hold back
- 2
10 minutes \- Role model vulnerability, start the Happiest/Maddest session and you go first as facilitator. Be clear and honest. Then ask everyone in turn to share theirs, make sure everyone listens.
- 3
5-10 mins \- Purpose and Meaning - circle back to your original Purpose (if you never set one, now is the time!). Ask everyone to answer, “What is the big WHY of your team?” Does the answer to this questions still match your Team Purpose? If yes, great - reconnect with that purpose through the chat! If no - re-shape your Team Purpose, it doesn’t have to be static!
- 4
10 mins \- Ways of working - time to check in on if collaboration is working. Walk through your baseline ways of working.
- 5
5 mins \- Ask this question: “Do these best serve our ability to create value together and serve our lifestyle in and out of work?
- 6
Agree team actions together to keep or change any parts that don’t serve those two goals.
- 7
Reaffirm permissions - take 5 minutes of your relaunch time to write down your rules around permission to fail, openness to learn together, to be our real selves, to be human, to always speak up on having FUN.
What next
Keep an eye on improvement variations for 3 months then return to the team relaunch. Commit to at least one full version of Team Re-Launch a year - preferably in person for an offsite.