Why Your Retrospectives Keep Failing Artwork

Good intentions, bad outcomes

A podcast about challenges and practices you might encounter in the workplace... things that were intended well, but have outcomes that aren't so great. In most cases, the organizations aren't even aware of how bad the outcomes are.

Every episode we discuss a situation that has something wrong with it: the what, the why and what can be done to address it.

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Good intentions, bad outcomes

Why Your Retrospectives Keep Failing

July 03, 2025 • Xodiac • Season 1 • Episode 10

In this episode of Good Intentions and Bad Outcomes, hosts Gino and Wayne explore how retrospectives and other well-meaning workplace meetings can lose their effectiveness when teams fail to follow through on their commitments.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Introduction
0:41 – The recurring problem: repeated retrospective action items
1:17 – Why retrospectives should work
1:56 – The danger of unresolved improvements
2:11 – When meetings turn into time-wasters
2:48 – External feedback loops that go nowhere
3:26 – Gino’s first solution: Commit to just one action
4:38 – Wayne’s addition: Don’t bite off more than you can chew
5:47 – Define “done”: Set clear acceptance criteria
6:46 – Agreeing on outcomes before the meeting ends
7:13 – Example from product backlog planning with clients
8:14 – Stakeholder feedback without clear results
8:55 – How to make feedback loops visible
9:23 – Respecting participants’ time and contributions
10:02 – Similar breakdowns in stand-ups and planning meetings
10:49 – Summary: Clarity, accountability, and closing the loop
11:27 – Netflix quote: 2 essential questions to ask after every meeting
12:15 – Closing thoughts + invite for listener stories

Gino and Wayne dive into a common agile trap: teams holding retrospectives and other recurring meetings with good intentions, but making the same commitments week after week without real change. They discuss how this pattern can frustrate teams, disengage stakeholders, and eventually lead to cancelled meetings or worse: teams that stop believing in improvement.

Drawing from real-world examples, they offer practical strategies including:
Committing to just one improvement at a time
Breaking big problems into smaller, doable chunks
Defining “done” with clear acceptance criteria
Making progress visible to internal teams and external stakeholders
Asking two powerful questions after every meeting

If you’ve ever sat in a meeting thinking "Haven’t we talked about this before?" this episode is for you.

Got your own story of good intentions that led to bad outcomes? Share it in the comments or reach out to be featured in an upcoming episode!