Are you curious to try tension meetings? Or have advice to share with others?

Join us for this meet-up conversation exploring our questions and ideas about Tension Meetings.

After introductions, the meet-up will be facilitated as a “Lean Coffee” where participants suggest the topics they want to discuss and the group votes on what to prioritize.

What is a Tension Meeting?

Tension-driven meetings are a tool for collectively turning complaints into proposals for change, helping the team to grow together.

Holacracy defines a tension as “the feeling you get when you sense a gap between what is and what could be.” Learn more.

Round Sky Solutions describes tension-driven meetings as “a powerful and human-centered practice that efficiently invites all team members to bring forward whatever is on their mind with respect to their team, from celebrations of work done well, to things that aren’t working, or priorities that need revisiting.” See their guide for implementing these meetings.

In short, team members name tensions they would like to discuss in advance of a meeting. They then come prepared to talk about the tension and propose a way forward, while remaining open to team feedback and adapting their proposal. While the meeting may not fully resolve the tension, it is up to the person who proposed the tension to determine that the tension has been moved forward (such as, there is a clear next step).

You can also listen to the host, Sara A. Clark, speak about tensions with Vasco Duarte on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast episode "BONUS: Unleashing the Power of Tension (Meetings) in Agile Teams with Sara Clark."

Curious? Join us to talk further!

Learn more about or connect with our facilitation: Sara Clark on LinkedIn and CuriousWays.co