--- title: "Ignite Workshop" description: "Teams reflect on their previous year, vote on focal topics from a categorized menu, and work in parallel breakouts. Each group creates a visual poster, collects team feedback, and drafts an immediate action plan." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/ignite-2026-workshop-workshopbank/" --- # Ignite Workshop Teams reflect on their previous year, vote on focal topics from a categorized menu, and work in parallel breakouts. Each group creates a visual poster, collects team feedback, and drafts an immediate action plan. **Time:** 120 minutes. Matches the 120-minute schedule recorded in the WorkshopBank source. **People:** 6 to 20. Whole-group introduction, parallel breakout groups of 3 to 4 (minimum 2, maximum 5), and whole-room review. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Select team focus areas by vote, complete parallel small group deliverables, and assign near-term owners and deadlines. **Use it when:** Annual kickoffs, quarterly planning resets, or strategy launches where an intact team needs shared priorities and concrete next steps. **Skip it when:** Crisis interventions, active dispute resolution, or narrow technical meetings requiring a single pre-determined agenda. ## Materials and tools - Printed Topic Menus (1 per participant) - Dot stickers (3 to 5 per participant) - Flip chart paper or oversized sticky pads (1 sheet per breakout group, plus spares) - Chisel-tip marker pens in multiple colors (at least 2 pens per breakout group) - Roll of painter tape or adhesive putty for wall posting - Printed Topic Process Handouts (1 copy per breakout group) - Printed Action Plan Templates (1 copy per breakout group) - Countdown timer display - Digital whiteboard platform with pre-built breakout frames (remote or hybrid) ## Before participants arrive 1. Post an enlarged Topic Menu or prepare a central table where participants can review all voting options. 2. Set up breakout tables spaced far enough apart to reduce room noise, each stocked with flip chart paper, markers, and worksheets. 3. Confirm wall space is clear and adhesive putty or tape adheres safely. 4. For remote or hybrid sessions, prepare dedicated digital whiteboard frames and breakout rooms in advance. ## Say this to open Welcome everyone. Today we will reflect on the past year, choose the topics that matter most right now, and work in small teams to build practical outputs. To start, take two quiet minutes to think of three words that capture your past year, plus one word you want to define your focus for the year ahead. Sharing your words aloud is optional; you may also pass. ## How to run it ### 1. Open session and share word reflections (15 minutes) Deliver the opening script. Allow 2 minutes of silent reflection. Go around the room and invite each person to share their three past words and one future word in 30 to 45 seconds. Anyone may pass without explanation. Note recurring themes on a central board without debating choices. ### 2. Review menu and dot-vote topics (15 minutes) Distribute the Topic Menu and give each person 3 to 5 dot stickers. Briefly read the four category titles. Give 3 minutes for participants to review options and place their stickers on the posted menu; people may stack dots on one topic or spread them out. Tally votes publicly. Select the top topics to match the target number of breakout groups (typically 2 to 5 groups). ### 3. Form breakouts and distribute handouts (5 minutes) Divide participants into small teams aligned with the winning topics. Aim for 3 to 4 people per group. If numbers do not divide evenly, groups of 3 to 5 are acceptable, or a group of 2 if needed. Give each team its Topic Process Handout, flip chart paper, and markers. Direct teams to their breakout stations. ### 4. Produce deliverables in breakout groups (35 minutes) Start the 35-minute timer. Groups follow their Topic Process Handout steps to diagnose issues, draft solutions, and draw their poster. Circulate to answer procedural questions while leaving content decisions to the team. Announce time remaining at 20, 10, and 5 minutes. At time, groups tape their posters to the room walls. ### 5. Present posters and gather additions (30 minutes) Gather the full room facing the posted charts. Run timed rounds for each group: strictly 3 minutes to present their core poster idea and one surprising insight, followed by 2 minutes of whole-room questions and feedback (5 minutes total per group, accommodating up to 6 groups within the 30-minute block). The presenting group records useful feedback directly on their poster in a different marker color. ### 6. Write action commitments and close (20 minutes) Give each team an Action Plan Template. Teams spend 10 minutes filling out key decisions, next steps, owners, deadlines, and review dates. Regroup with 10 minutes remaining. Invite one representative from each team to read aloud their top action, assigned owner, and deadline in one sentence. Offer an optional final reflection prompt: what is one takeaway you are carrying forward? ## Debrief questions - Looking across all posted charts, what common connections appear between our priorities? - Which action step requires the closest coordination across different team members? - How will this team check progress on these commitments during regular check-ins? **Finished output:** Completed visual posters for each selected topic and filled Action Plan Templates identifying owners, deadlines, and review mechanisms. ## Remote Run via video conference with digital breakout rooms. Replace physical menus and flip charts with a shared digital whiteboard pre-populated with voting cards and breakout workspaces. In Step 1, participants share words via chat or voice. In Step 2, participants place digital voting tokens on topic cards. Breakouts run in dedicated video rooms for 35 minutes on their assigned digital whiteboard frame. In Step 5, groups screen-share their frame while peers add sticky notes. In Step 6, teams complete digital action tables. ## Hybrid Organize purely in-person breakout groups and purely remote breakout groups to avoid audio feedback and split attention. Both cohorts access the shared digital whiteboard. Remote groups work directly on digital frames, while in-person groups can draw on physical flip charts and take a digital photo to paste onto the board. During presentations, stream the digital whiteboard frames to both the room display and the remote video meeting. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may share reflections orally, write them in the chat/board, or pass without comment. - Teams assign internal breakout tasks (such as notes, drawing, or presenting) to accommodate individual communication preferences. - All shared posters and templates use high-contrast text visible from a distance or zoomable online. ## If the session gets stuck **Voting produces a tie for the final breakout group topic.** Hold a 30-second runoff vote by a quick show of hands between the tied topics, or let the unassigned breakout group choose between them. **A breakout group completes their chart well before the 35-minute timer.** Ask the group to list potential operational obstacles that could derail their plan and add concrete mitigation steps onto their poster. ## Terms used here - Dot-voting: A visual prioritization technique where participants place sticky dots on choices to express preferences. - Breakout group: A small sub-team created within a workshop to work independently on a specific assignment. ## Participant material: Topic Menu CATEGORY 1: REFLECTIVE & INTROSPECTIVE - Wins and Lessons: Review major accomplishments and key operational lessons from the past year. - Team Habits: Pinpoint working habits to stop, start, or keep doing. - Hidden Strengths: Identify underused talents and informal contributions across the team. CATEGORY 2: ENERGIZING & ACTION-ORIENTED - Rapid Momentum: Select high-impact quick wins achievable in under 30 days. - Friction Removers: Spot workflow bottlenecks and design practical workarounds. - Team Vitality: Build repeatable routines that protect energy and sustain output. CATEGORY 3: PLAYFUL & CREATIVE - Future Headline: Write the story of our team's headline success 12 months from today. - Worst Possible Plan: Brainstorm terrible approaches to reveal unspoken ground rules. - Process Reinvention: Take one cumbersome internal process and redesign it from scratch. CATEGORY 4: STRUCTURED & GOAL-FOCUSED - Priority Funnel: Narrow broad team targets into three measurable outcomes. - Operating Norms: Agree on working standards for communication, response times, and meetings. - Partner Commitments: Define concrete support boundaries and targets for internal collaborators. ## Participant material: Topic Process Handout Template TOPIC PROCESS HANDOUT Assigned Topic: Target Output: A completed poster detailing your diagnostic findings, core ideas, and priority recommendations. Breakout Sequence (35 Minutes): 1. Align (5 mins): Review the topic together. Define the specific question or issue your group will solve. 2. Explore Options (15 mins): Gather ideas from all members. Select the most realistic and high-value solutions. 3. Draft Poster (10 mins): Draw a clean, visual summary on flip chart paper using thick markers. Ensure text is readable from 6 feet away. 4. Designate Speaker (5 mins): Select one team member to present within a strict 3-minute limit. Choose one surprising takeaway to highlight. ## Participant material: Action Plan Template TOPIC ACTION PLAN Topic Name: ___________________________________ Core Outcome or Key Decision: _________________________________________________ Immediate Actions: 1. Action: ______________________________________ Owner: ___________________ Deadline: _________ 2. Action: ______________________________________ Owner: ___________________ Deadline: _________ 3. Action: ______________________________________ Owner: ___________________ Deadline: _________ Progress Check-in: Where and when will the team review these actions? (e.g., weekly standup) _________________________________________________ First Follow-Up Date: ___________________________ ## Sources and adaptation Observed on WorkshopBank as 'Ignite 2026 Workshop' (dated January 2026). Preserved the 120-minute 6-step core sequence, breakout work allocations, dot-voting selection, and share-back design observed in WorkshopBank documentation. Clarified presentation timekeeping in Step 5 (strict 3-minute presentations plus 2-minute feedback) to guarantee all breakout groups fit within the 30-minute block. Balanced group formation rules to allow groups between 2 and 5 people when dividing non-standard cohort sizes. [WorkshopBank](https://workshopbank.com/tools/ignite-2026-workshop) [WorkshopBank](https://workshopbank.com/ignite-2026-workshop) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/ignite-2026-workshop-workshopbank/