Debrief for Results

Why is it important to debrief following the implementation of a planned initiative?

We debrief for Results and for Learning!

Are you missing out on a simple to-do, learning opportunity for your team? Evaluating your team’s collective performance after the implementation of major projects and change initiatives is a step many organizations fail to make.

Debriefing about significant planned initiatives after implementation is a valuable learning tool for organizations, and it also promotes a culture of innovation, teamwork, and accountability.

Here are 4 key questions to ask your team to make this ‘debrief for results’ process more effective:

  • What were we trying to accomplish? Restate the original objectives so the entire team is clear.
  • Where did we succeed/fail to hit our objectives? Finding out what actually happened from various team member perspectives helps gather the facts and allows for fact-based reflection on specific strengths and weaknesses at points during the project.
  • What caused our results? Come up with 3 to 5 possible insights to go deeper from the first obvious answer. Look at what worked and what didn’t.
  • What have we learned from this to do better next time? What actions do we need to take to leverage what worked and improve what didn’t?

The hardest part of this process is starting to do it.