Team Exercise on Past, Present, and Future
Taking stock of your team periodically is a valuable way to learn and evolve. Often, we are so busy living in the present, that we forget to learn from our past or be intentional about our future plans.
A team retreat at the end or the beginning of the year is an excellent time to revisit the past, present, and future of your team. This exercise works with small teams and large extended teams too.
The instructions below can be adapted to fit the needs of your team and your goal for this activity. You can facilitate this in a variety of formats including:
- Simply ask the following discussion questions.
- Encourage the participants to respond verbally and visually using images and drawing tools.
- In a World Cafe format (this would work well if the team had 20+ people).
Instructions:
- Determine your format (choosing one format from above).
- Ask and collect answers for each of the three rounds below.
- Round 1: What are your favorite memories or stories of (our team/organization) from the past?
- Round 2: How has the past influenced the present of (our team/organization)?
- Round 3: What have we learned from the past and present that we can use to influence the future of (our team/organization)?
This reflective team building exercise can be used before beginning annual planning, strategic planning, or even to establish the team’s behavioral norms. Be sure to allow plenty of time for discussion.
About the Author: Leigh Ann Rodgers, Founder of Better Teams, Team Consultant Academy, and FORWARD, is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator with 20 years of experience in the human development field. Leigh Ann is a skilled meeting facilitator, trainer, and coach working across the globe to help leaders cultivate teams that are happy and high-performing.
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