Hey there! As we roll into 2025, I want to share two truths that have profoundly shaped my journey as an Agilist. First, we must learn from the past. As Winston Churchill put it, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Second, we need a clear sense of direction. Seneca said, “To the person who does not know where he wants to go, there is no favorable wind.”

These ideas—reflection and vision—are two sides of the same coin. Agile teaches us to pause, inspect, and adapt through retrospectives while also looking ahead, aligning our efforts with meaningful goals. The magic happens when we bridge the two, connecting where we’ve been to where we want to go. Let’s explore how reflection and vision can help you and your team thrive in 2025.

Why Reflection Matters

In 2024, one of the most impactful lessons I learned was deeply personal but profoundly applicable to teams: the importance of paying attention to the present moment. For me, this meant listening to my body—acknowledging what was occurring without immediately trying to change it and honoring the message it was sending. This practice of being present and receptive to what’s happening “now” created a powerful foundation for growth and clarity.

Agile’s 12th principle sums it up perfectly: “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.” When teams take the time to truly reflect on what’s happening—without rushing to fix or dismiss challenges—they can identify the root of issues, honor the needs of the moment, and move forward with clarity and purpose.

Quick Tip for Teams

Want to help your team get better at reflection? Try using structured retrospective tools like “Stop, Start, Continue” or the Starfish exercise. These tools make it easier to:

• Spot patterns in what’s working and what isn’t.
• Highlight where change is needed.
• Identify actionable steps to improve processes and results.

A great resource for these tools and others is Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great (2nd edition) by Esther Derby, Diana Larsen, and David Horowitz. The book offers practical advice for structuring retrospectives in ways that encourage meaningful reflection and actionable change.

Reflection isn’t about dwelling on the past; it’s about equipping your team with the tools to move forward smarter and stronger.

The Power of Visualization

While reflection anchors us, vision points us forward. Agile isn’t just about reacting to change—it’s about anticipating it. A shared vision helps teams stay proactive, avoid obstacles, and move toward meaningful goals.

A compelling vision doesn’t have to be complicated—it just has to inspire and align. It could be as simple as releasing consistently in under 15 minutes or finding ways to reduce time in meetings. Think of it this way: vision is like spotting a pothole in your path before you step into it. Without it, you’re stuck reacting to problems instead of sidestepping them entirely. Goal = go around the pothole!

Better Ways to Build a Vision

Here are actionable tools to align your team around a compelling vision:

• Impact Mapping: Help the team identify how their work connects to business outcomes and customer value. A great source on this is Impact Mapping: Making a Big Impact with Software Products and Projects by Gojko Adzic.
• Future Backward Thinking: Start by imagining the ideal future state and work backward to define the steps needed to get there. Also found in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: “Begin with the end in mind.”
• Team-Driven OKRs: Empower the team to create their own Objectives and Key Results, fostering ownership of the vision. (Quality of life OKRs typically go over best with teams struggling to find their footing.)

A compelling vision is more than just a goal—it’s a guide that keeps teams agile, proactive, and ready for what’s next. By involving the team in crafting the vision, you ensure that it’s not only compelling but also rooted in shared commitment and understanding.

Bridging Reflection and Vision

Here’s where the real magic happens: connecting reflection to vision. This means tying the decisions teams make today to the goals they’re working toward tomorrow. It’s about showing how their day-to-day work impacts their larger mission, the organization’s objectives, and the customers they serve.

I worked with a team that split coding and testing into separate stories so they could close developer tasks by the end of the sprint. Over time, testing-only stories ballooned to over 50% of the team’s workload. Testers were overwhelmed, and developers had little to do but write more code—worsening the bottleneck.

I visualized this trend with a simple chart, and it sparked several powerful conversations. Over several retrospectives, the team decided to change course, keeping development and testing within a single story and asking developers to focus more on unit testing. When new team members later suggested splitting tasks again, the team confidently explained why they wouldn’t. This wasn’t just about efficiency; it was about aligning their daily decisions with their goals.

Actionable Tips for Scrum Masters

Here’s how you can help your team bridge reflection and vision:

• Start Small: Use retrospectives to surface insights about how the team’s work aligns with their values. Build on these over time.
• Visualize Impact: Use lightweight tools like timelines or trend analysis to show how past decisions affect current outcomes.
• Revisit Goals Regularly: At sprint reviews, retrospectives, or planning meetings, connect day-to-day tasks to organizational and customer objectives.

Final Thoughts

Agile thrives on the synergy between reflection and vision. By looking back, we ground ourselves in what we’ve learned; by looking forward, we give ourselves something to strive for. By reflecting on where we’ve been and visualizing where we’re going, we create a future shaped by continuous growth.

As you step into 2025, take a moment to reflect on one key lesson from 2024. What insight can you carry forward? Then, set a bold yet actionable goal for the year ahead—one that aligns your daily actions with your long-term aspirations.

Here’s to a year of purpose, growth, and success! So, what’s your first step? Let’s do this together, Bestie!