--- title: "Something Positive" description: "Team members write and post reflections across five specific categories covering appreciation, morale, complaints, and lessons learned. The group clusters shared themes and agrees on adjustments for the next work cycle." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/something-positive/" --- # Something Positive Team members write and post reflections across five specific categories covering appreciation, morale, complaints, and lessons learned. The group clusters shared themes and agrees on adjustments for the next work cycle. **Time:** 40 minutes. UWT suggested duration of 40 minutes to support silent generation, clustered synthesis, and focused complaint analysis for up to 24 participants. **People:** 4 to 24. Individual writing, whole group posting with volunteer clusterers, plenary discussion ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Review a completed work cycle by capturing peer recognition, positive highlights, complaints, and key learnings in separate categories. **Use it when:** Use at the conclusion of an iteration, project phase, or shared delivery cycle when the team needs balanced reflection that combines appreciation with an explicit channel for grievances. **Skip it when:** Skip during acute workplace crises or unresolved personal grievances where open venting without formal mediation would escalate interpersonal conflict. ## Materials and tools - 5 flip chart sheets or designated wall spaces labeled with the 5 prompt titles - Sticky notes (1 pad per person) - Fine-tip markers (1 per person) - Timer - Whiteboard or shared screen for documenting agreed action items ## Before participants arrive 1. Write one of the five prompt titles at the top of five separate wall posters: 1. What has someone done really well? 2. What nice thing did someone else do for you? 3. What is something that makes you happy? 4. What do you want to complain about? 5. What did you learn? 2. Distribute sticky note pads and markers to all seats. ## Say this to open Today we are reviewing our recent work cycle across five distinct prompts. This format gives us space to celebrate support and wins, but it also reserves explicit space to complain about friction and record what we learned. Write one concise thought per sticky note. You can post to any or all columns, or keep your thoughts private. We will start with silent writing. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce prompts and write silently (8 minutes) Read the five prompts aloud and state the opening script. Give the group 7 minutes to write reflections on sticky notes in silence. Participants may address any combination of the prompts. For example, under complaints, an entry could say 'Deployment scripts failed twice due to outdated credentials.' Remind the room that notes should address processes, tools, or circumstances rather than individual people. ### 2. Post notes and cluster by column (7 minutes) Invite everyone to walk up and place their notes under the corresponding column headers. Assign one volunteer per column (5 volunteers total) to work at the board simultaneously, grouping similar notes together into thematic clusters while others return to their seats. If fewer than 5 volunteer, have available volunteers each take adjacent columns. ### 3. Review thematic clusters (17 minutes) Review the columns systematically. Spend 3 minutes highlighting peer recognition, 2 minutes on general happiness, 7 minutes on complaints, and 5 minutes on lessons learned. Rather than reading every note aloud, summarize the largest clusters and read 2 or 3 representative notes per column. Invite brief clarifying remarks from the room, focusing on operational causes rather than personal blame. ### 4. Agree on concrete actions (8 minutes) Ask the room to identify one or two high-priority improvements based on the prominent complaints and lessons learned. Record each agreed action item along with a single owner and a target date on the action whiteboard. Confirm consensus and conclude the session. ## Debrief questions - Which recurring theme stood out most across our positive reflections and complaints? - What process adjustment directly tackles our main complaint before the next cycle? - What mutual support practice showed up that we want to keep doing? **Finished output:** A shared board with clustered reflections across five columns, resulting in one or two assigned action commitments for the next cycle. ## Remote Use a shared digital whiteboard with five designated columns matching the prompts. Participants post digital notes during the silent writing window. The facilitator or appointed co-hosts cluster similar cards, then guide review using chat and voice queue. ## Hybrid All participants post directly into a shared digital canvas using personal laptops or phones, eliminating physical transcription. Screen share the live board to the room display. The facilitator alternates spoken remarks between in-person and remote participants during thematic reviews. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may pass on any specific prompt or choose not to post written notes. Collective outputs are formed by those who share. - Complaints may be submitted anonymously on identical sticky notes without handwriting identification. - Prompts are posted in large print at the front and read aloud. ## If the session gets stuck **A complaint identifies an individual teammate by name or implied criticism.** Reframe the issue immediately around the workflow, documentation, or tooling gap that allowed the breakdown to happen. **Participants hesitate to post to the complaint column out of politeness.** Remind the group that unstated friction blocks improvement, and normalize that every operational cycle contains small annoyances worth fixing. ## Terms used here - Sprint: A recurring fixed cycle of team work, usually one to four weeks. - Venting: A direct expression of frustration or friction regarding work processes. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in EasyRetro templates, where it is attributed to user creator Eric. Retains the five core prompts from the EasyRetro template attributed to Eric. UWT established the structured silent writing, defined volunteer clustering roles, calibrated the 40-minute pacing, and added neutral process framing for complaints and action commitments. [EasyRetro](https://easyretro.io/templates/something-positive/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/something-positive/