I can say with confidence, The Start, Stop and Continue (or also called the StopLight Method) is a life saver. Conducting a retrospective on a continual basis is a tremendous opportunity to set ourselves up for success in anything that we do. You can think of this method as a helpful life check-in that can be leveraged at work or at home.
What actions or focuses do you want to start, stop, or continue?
Start, Stop, Continue Checklist
Aligning Teams
We've used it in team brainstorms, workshops and even conflict resolution exercises. As a Team, we had team members write down on sticky notes what they wanted the Team to start, stop & continue. We then had each member place the sticky notes on a white board under the 3 primary categories of Start, Stop & Continue to discuss as a Team. It inspired creative new ideas on what to fix, what behaviors or priorities that we wanted to halt and new actions we wanted to create. It allows us to continue to iterate, innovate and ensure alignment.
Resolving Conflicts
For conflict resolution, I had two team members that didn’t get along. Rather than having them not work on projects together, I facilitated a partnership reset conversation by having both of them go down the list of what one person wanted the other to start, stop and continue. It worked masterfully because it allowed a safe and structured space to raise constructive feedback, but also positive alignment on how to work more effectively together in the future.
Personal Goals
From a personal perspective, it’s a great check to decide behaviors or actions that you want to start, stop & continue. By adopting a growth mindset, going down this journey allows you to frame specific goals to help you reach primary objectives.
Start, Stop, Continue Checklist
Overall, it’s an introspective and highly effective exercise that can be shapeshifted into powerful outcomes to discover what is most meaningful for you.
Here is your opportunity to take a life inventory based on specific emotions and easily bucket them into goals you want to:
💚 START: What do you crave? What should I start, what are the opportunities to improve?
🛑 STOP: What do you want to waive? What are blockers to my potential and what I should say no to?
💛 CONTINUE: What do you want to save? What actions should I continue to help me achieve what I want?
Mastering Goal Setting
Check out our Goal Setting workbook (linked below) to learn more about the Stoplight method and also to help you break down your primary goals into digestible and achievable steps. In this guided workbook, we’ll help you build strategic goals and give you the tools to help you be a proactive creator of your life.
Need help or have questions? Feel free to email etsy@rocketrygroup.com.
