Sparkle Year Kickoff

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Collect personal holiday highlights, annual expectations, and early appreciation to establish shared priorities for an upcoming work cycle.

Use it when: Use at the start of a calendar year or project cycle when an existing team returns from extended leave and needs to reorient together.

Skip it when: Skip during high-urgency operational reviews or with newly formed teams that lack shared context for shoutouts.

Group arrangement: Individual reflection followed by triads or quads, then selected whole-room sharing.

Timing: Source listed 90 minutes; UWT provides a focused 45-minute version suitable for groups up to 24 using parallel breakout groups.

Materials and tools

• Sticky notes in four colors or index cards (at least 6 per person)
• Fine-point markers (1 per person)
• Four wall charts or digital columns labeled: Holiday Memories, New Cycle Expectations, One Key Goal, Shoutouts
• Countdown timer visible to the room

Before participants arrive

1. Post four visible charts around the room or prepare four corresponding columns on a shared digital board.
2. Place sticky notes and markers at each seat.

Say this to open

Welcome to our new cycle kickoff. Before we jump into project delivery, we will take time to reconnect, share expectations, name one key achievement we want this cycle, and recognize colleagues who have already helped us get moving.

How to run it

1. Introduce prompts and silent writing 8 minutes

   Facilitator delivers opening remarks and displays the four prompts. Participants write silently on separate notes: (1) holiday memory or rest highlight, (2) expectations for work and life this cycle, (3) one priority achievement, and (4) shoutouts for peers in the opening weeks. Participants may write as few or as many as they choose, or write private notes.

2. Post and review cards 7 minutes

   Participants stick their notes under the matching wall headers or digital columns. The facilitator gives everyone five minutes of quiet gallery walking to read what peers posted.

3. Small group discussion 18 minutes

   Divide participants into groups of 3 to 4. Each person gets roughly 4 minutes to share their key goal and any shoutouts they want to mention. Group members ask brief follow-up questions to understand details. A participant may pass on any question without explanation.

4. Plenary harvest and close 12 minutes

   Reconvene the full room. Invite one representative from each small group to share common themes heard across goals and expectations (max 1 to 2 minutes per group). Close by inviting 3 to 4 open shoutouts spoken aloud to peers.

Debrief questions

• What common themes or mutual interests stand out across our individual goals?
• Where do our personal expectations for work and life require mutual support from the team?
• What patterns in our shoutouts show habits we want to keep doing this cycle?

Finished output: A four-column wall or digital board populated with personal reflections, team expectations, prioritized single goals, and peer recognitions.

Remote

Create four columns on an online whiteboard corresponding to the four prompts. Run individual writing directly on the board with cameras off or muted. Place attendees into breakout rooms of 3 to 4 for the 18-minute discussion. Return to the main room for spoken shoutouts and debrief.

Hybrid

Maintain the primary board on a collaborative digital tool. In-person participants use laptops or assign an in-person scribe to post digital sticky notes for physical cards. Small groups are assigned either entirely in-person or entirely online to avoid audio feedback issues.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may share purely professional highlights if they prefer not to disclose personal holiday details.
• Any participant may pass on posting cards publicly or speaking during small group and plenary rounds without needing to provide a reason.

If the session gets stuck

Participants write lengthy narratives on single sticky notes, making gallery reading difficult.

Remind everyone during silent writing to keep one concise idea or headline per card.

Shoutouts concentrate around one or two visible leaders, leaving others out.

Explicitly prompt the room to consider behind-the-scenes contributions and administrative support when drafting shoutouts.

Terms used here

• Shoutout: A brief, public acknowledgment of gratitude or appreciation for a peer's specific help.
• New Cycle: The upcoming business quarter, semester, or calendar year period being initiated.