Team Radar

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Assess collective perceptions across key teamwork dimensions and select one or two concrete actions for team development.

Use it when: Use during a team retrospective, milestone reset, or quarterly planning session to review working agreements and identify collaboration bottlenecks.

Skip it when: Skip when a team is in active interpersonal conflict requiring mediated conversation, or when reviewing single task deliverables rather than team habits.

Group arrangement: Individual scoring followed by small groups of 3 to 4, then whole-group review

Timing: Matches the 45-minute duration listed in the EasyRetro source template

Materials and tools

• One large whiteboard or flip chart with a pre-drawn 6-axis radar wheel (1 to 10 scale on each axis)
• Sticky notes (one pad per participant)
• Markers or pens (one per participant)
• Optional: Printed Team Radar Worksheet (one per participant)

Before participants arrive

1. Draw a large circular wheel on the whiteboard with six spokes labeled: Communication, Collaboration, Planning, Decision-Making, Trust and Respect, Adaptability.
2. Mark concentric rings or tick marks numbered 1 (center) to 10 (outer perimeter) along each spoke.
3. Place markers and sticky notes at each seat.

Say this to open

Today we will evaluate six core dimensions of how we work together using a Team Radar. You will privately rate each dimension from 1 to 10 based on our recent work. A 1 means this area is struggling or blocking us, while a 10 means it is running smoothly and reliably. We will aggregate our scores, examine where we are strong, and pick concrete steps to improve where our scores are low.

How to run it

1. Introduce dimensions and scoring 5 minutes

   Explain the six dimensions displayed on the wall: Communication, Collaboration, Planning, Decision-Making, Trust and Respect, and Adaptability. Clarify the 1 to 10 scale. Answer any clarifying questions about what each spoke covers.

2. Score privately 5 minutes

   Participants write down their score (1 to 10) for each of the six dimensions on a private sheet or individual sticky notes. Instruct everyone to work silently without conferring.

3. Plot scores on the radar 5 minutes

   Have participants place their scores on the main board. In groups of up to 12, participants place a dot or sticky note directly on each axis. For larger groups, call out each axis and plot the average or median score to keep the board legible.

4. Discuss patterns in subgroups 10 minutes

   Divide participants into small groups of 3 or 4. Direct them to examine the lowest-scoring area and the highest-scoring area. Ask: What specific practices make our high score successful? What concrete bottleneck explains our low score? Allow 8 minutes for small groups, with spare participants joining an existing group.

5. Agree on action items 12 minutes

   Reconvene the whole room. Invite each subgroup to share one actionable idea targeting the lowest-scoring spoke. Select one or two practical actions that the team will test during the next working cycle. Assign an owner and review date for each.

6. Debrief and close 8 minutes

   Lead a brief whole-room reflection on the radar process and confirm where the agreed action items will be tracked.

Debrief questions

• Which score had the widest spread across the team, and what might explain that difference?
• What strength highlighted today can we lean on to address our lowest score?
• How will we know in our day-to-day work if our new action item is helping?

Finished output: A completed team radar chart showing aggregate scores across six dimensions and a documented list of 1 or 2 committed action items with assigned owners.

Remote

Use a shared digital whiteboard with the six-axis radar template pre-built. Participants add anonymous digital sticky notes with their ratings to each axis. Conduct subgroup discussions in breakout rooms of 3 to 4, then return to the main room to log action commitments on a shared board.

Hybrid

Provide remote participants a digital board mirror while in-person participants view the physical wall. Appoint an in-person facilitator buddy to transcribe digital sticky notes to the physical board, or have all participants score on the digital whiteboard from their seats. Form separate fully remote and fully in-person small discussion groups for step 4.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may submit ratings anonymously or choose not to rate a specific dimension if they lack sufficient context.
• Written input via notes or chat is fully accepted alongside spoken contributions during subgroup and whole-group discussions.

If the session gets stuck

Scores clump tightly in the 7 to 8 range with little critical feedback.

Ask participants to identify which of the dimensions feels hardest on a stressful day, or prompt them to score relative to their ideal working environment rather than absolute adequacy.

Team members argue defensively about a low score on Trust and Respect or Communication.

Shift focus immediately from intent to process. Ask: What routine, habit, or tool can we adjust to make this easier for everyone, rather than focusing on individual behaviors.

Terms used here

• Radar chart: A circular diagram displaying multiple quantitative axes originating from a central point, used to compare several categories at once.