Establish practice
Define cadence, owner, participation, and success signals for a recurring team practice.
Establish the practice
Define cadence, owner, participation, and success signals so the method works as a recurring team practice.
Variant for Operating practice. The plan is derived from method form, method steps, and runsheet.
RunsheetAn operating practice works through repetition. The cadence should be small enough to hold reliably.
The steps describe one repetition and are adjusted after review.
- 1
Section 1: Model and scenario
15 minExplain the eight stages, one example sentence per stage. Introduce the scenario: a concrete situation from the last sprint or quarter with a measurable consequence.
OwnerExamples from the lead person's own behavior increase safety. Staying abstract signals that reflection is only for others. - 2
Section 2: Silent self-positioning
10 minEach person notes privately which stage they were on in the scenario. Add two sentences about the trigger for that stage.
TeamDo not share in plenary, otherwise consensus drift sets in. Force written commitment before verbal exchange. - 3
Section 3: Pair exchange
15 minForm pairs, spend 5 min on your own position, then 2 min of questions. No evaluation, only questions for understanding.
TeamIf a pair slips into justification, the facilitator interrupts and reminds the group of the question-first stance. Evaluation blocks honesty. - 4
Section 4: Identify conditions
20 minPlenary: what enables a higher stage (information access, decision authority, clear expectations)? What blocks it (culture, punishment for mistakes, missing mandate)?
TeamIf blockers are always located elsewhere, that itself is a lower stage. The facilitator mirrors this calmly. - 5
Section 5: Agreements
15 minFormulate one concrete agreement per person: which behavior from when with which owner. Optional additional team agreement.
TeamAgreements without time frame and observability are wish statements. Each agreement needs at least one follow-up in the next retro.
Practice Charter
Copyable charter with purpose, cadence, owner, participation, flow, success signals, and review.
practice-charter.md
Practice Charter: Accountability Ladder
Purpose
The method helps clarify workflow, data, causes, and improvements in a concrete way. It identifies patterns, causes, bottlenecks, or constraints and turns them into actions. The result is captured as Ownership Reflection, Action Commitment, and Coaching Notes.
Cadence
weekly
Owner and Participation
- Owner: open
- Participants: 1-8
- Mode: synchronous
Flow per Iteration
- Section 1: Model and scenario (15 min) Explain the eight stages, one example sentence per stage. Introduce the scenario: a concrete situation from the last sprint or quarter with a measurable consequence.
- Section 2: Silent self-positioning (10 min) Each person notes privately which stage they were on in the scenario. Add two sentences about the trigger for that stage.
- Section 3: Pair exchange (15 min) Form pairs, spend 5 min on your own position, then 2 min of questions. No evaluation, only questions for understanding.
- Section 4: Identify conditions (20 min) Plenary: what enables a higher stage (information access, decision authority, clear expectations)? What blocks it (culture, punishment for mistakes, missing mandate)?
- Section 5: Agreements (15 min) Formulate one concrete agreement per person: which behavior from when with which owner. Optional additional team agreement.
Success Signals
Ownership Reflection, Action Commitment, Coaching Notes
Review
4 weeks