Sprint Reviews — Balancing Reflection and Action

In January 2023, our Sprint 3 Review became a moment of honest reflection—and raised a powerful tension in the room.

“It’s a safe place to articulate what we often suppress,” one participant said. People valued the space to slow down, to hear each other, to reconnect with why we do this work.

But others voiced a different concern: “I’m worried we’re becoming a talking shop. Where’s the tangible progress?”

That tension — between deep reflection and urgent doing — is one we keep coming back to. And instead of picking sides, we’re learning to hold both.

Our work is complex. It asks us to notice, to listen, to reflect. But it also demands courage and movement. We can’t afford to live in one mode or the other.

Sprint reviews help us find that rhythm. They’re not just check-ins. They’re recalibrations. Opportunities to ask: what’s working, what’s emerging, what needs to shift?

The magic is in the mix. Reflection sharpens action. And action gives our reflections somewhere to land.