Year-end team review: questions that get honest answers

Before you start: setting up an honest review

In South Africa the year-end review usually lands in a busy few weeks before the December shutdown, squeezed between the last deadlines and the year-end function. Give it a proper slot of 60 to 90 minutes anyway, ideally away from everyone's desks. A rushed review produces polite answers.

• Say what it is for: learning, not blame, and not individual performance reviews.
• Send three or four of the questions a few days ahead. Measured styles give far better answers when they have had time to think.
• Start with silent writing: everyone puts their answers on sticky notes before anyone speaks.
• Go round the room in order, so nobody has to fight for a turn.
• Ask the most senior person to speak last, not first.
• Agree before you start what will happen to the answers.

Questions about the year that was

Start with what went well. It warms the room up, and it reminds people how much they actually got done.

• What are you most proud of from this year, as a team?
• Which piece of work deserved more credit than it got?
• Whose help made the biggest difference to you this year?
• What did we get better at without really noticing?
• What was the best decision we made this year?
• If a new colleague asked what this team is good at, what would you tell them?

Questions about what was hard

This is where honest answers matter most, and where people are most tempted to hold back. Keep the focus on situations and habits, not on individuals.

• What was the hardest stretch of the year, and what got us through it?
• What did we keep putting off that we should have dealt with sooner?
• Where did we waste the most time?
• When did you feel out of the loop?
• What did we say yes to that we should have said no to?
• What is one thing you wish you had said earlier in the year?

Questions about how we work together

These are the real team building questions. They are about the way the team works rather than the work itself, and they often lead to the most useful changes.

• How do we make decisions now, and does it work for everyone?
• Which of our meetings earns its place, and which could go?
• How do we handle disagreement: openly, after the meeting or not at all?
• What do you need from the rest of the team that you are not getting?
• When the pressure is on, what do we start doing that does not help?
• How would we like to give each other feedback next year?

Questions about next year

Finish by looking forward, so the session ends with energy and a few clear ideas.

• What one thing would make next year better than this one?
• What should we stop, start and keep doing?
• What would you like to learn or try next year?
• What does a good week look like for you, and how can we have more of them?
• Which risk should we be talking about now rather than in June?
• How will we know, a year from now, that this conversation made a difference?

How each DISC style experiences a team review

The same questions land differently on different people. Knowing the four styles helps you notice who is holding back, and why.

If your reviews always feel the same, look at the mix of styles in the room. A team that leans Direct and Inspiring may race through the hard questions. A team that leans Steady and Careful may cover them thoroughly but never quite decide anything.

• Direct: wants the review to lead to decisions. Will name problems bluntly and gets impatient with a long look back. Give them the action list to own.
• Inspiring: brings energy and stories, and shines on the wins and the ideas. May steer away from the hard questions to keep the mood up. Ask them to help make the hard part feel safe.
• Steady: often has the clearest view of how people are really doing, but is the least likely to say so in a group. Advance questions and silent writing help most here.
• Careful: has noticed the patterns and the numbers, and wants examples rather than impressions. Give them time to prepare, and ask them directly what the evidence says.

Turning the answers into next year's plan

A review is only as good as what happens after it. Group the sticky notes into themes, pick no more than three changes and give each one an owner and a date. Then put a 15-minute check-in in the diary for the end of February.

To go further, the DISC Test team pack gives up to 15 people a Full Playbook each, a live team map showing where your team leans and what it might be missing, and pair reports between members. It costs R3,950 a year, members choose what they share, and it makes a good start to the first team session of the new year.