Kim Porensky: Thank you, Ross, for the introduction! That is quite a lengthy title, so I won’t repeat it, but I do want to say good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, wherever you're joining us from today. We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to be here.
My name is Kim Porensky, and I’m joined by my colleague, John Mulligan. As Ross mentioned, we are principal consultants with Applied Frameworks. I have been an agilist since about 2008, working primarily in finance and insurance, but also in healthcare. I absolutely love my role as a consultant, where I get to work with clients across the country—and even the globe—helping them on their agile journeys. I’m coming to you from Charleston, South Carolina, and my background features the iconic Rainbow Row. It’s a beautiful day outside, and I’m looking forward to warmer weather. I’ll pass it over to John.
John Mulligan: Hello, everyone! I’m John Mulligan, joining from beautiful Richmond, Virginia, and my background actually looks exactly like that today—a beautiful 70-degree day here.
I have been working in agile since 2005, holding various roles at different companies, including Scrum Master, Product Owner, Release Train Engineer, Agile Coach, and Consultant. Kim and I actually met Ross while working together on a previous engagement. I’m excited to be here today!
Behind-the-Scenes Support
Kim Porensky: Even though we don’t have her picture on a slide, we’d be remiss if we didn’t introduce our Applied Frameworks colleague, Laura Caldey, who is on video with us. She’s helping with behind-the-scenes support today. Laura, would you like to say a few words?
Laura Caldey: Thanks, Kim! Hello, everyone. I’m really excited to be here. I love talking about this stuff, so I jumped in to help with Q&A and an interactive activity we’ll be doing midway through. My job is to make sure your questions get answered, so feel free to drop them in the chat. I’ll turn it back over to Kim.
Getting to Know Our Participants
Kim Porensky: Before we jump into the presentation, I’m always curious—what role do you currently play in your organization that prompted you to join today’s session? If you have a keyboard handy, please type your role in the chat.
(Participants respond with Agile Coach, Transformation Leader, Scrum Master, etc.)
Great! We have a variety of roles, and that’s one of the things I love about this topic—it applies to many different roles and organizations. I hope you’ll be able to take something valuable away from today’s session.
Why Baby Walruses and Icebergs?
Now, I bet some of you saw the title of this talk and thought, "Baby walruses and icebergs? What is this?" Maybe you joined just out of curiosity. Others might have thought, "Baby walruses? I'm in!"—because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love cuteness overload?
Either way, we hope to engage you today. We intentionally picked this title because we believe there is a strong connection, and I want to take a moment to explain it.
When I talk about baby walruses, I’m thinking about the Arctic and its waterways—places like the Bering Strait and the Hudson Strait. These areas are experiencing their lowest ice levels in years, leading to increased development, including gas exploration, oil exploration, and a significant rise in shipping traffic. This, in turn, affects the local wildlife ecosystem.
The Bering Strait is known as the "marine mammal superhighway" due to its large populations of seabirds, polar bears, walruses, and whales. To manage this development responsibly, organizations like the World Wildlife Federation have created maps to identify environmentally and socially responsible routes for shipping traffic. These maps highlight polar bear denning areas, wildlife hazards, and high-density seal populations, helping mariners navigate without disrupting ecosystems.
Now, consider an organization undergoing an agile transformation. They are also entering uncharted waters, trying to forge new paths while sustaining the organizational ecosystem that drives their success. Similarly, they must identify hazards—hidden icebergs—that could sink their efforts.
Wouldn’t it be great if organizations could create their own navigational maps, just like those developed for the Arctic? Well, in our experience, large-scale retrospectives (LSRs) can serve this exact purpose.
What Are Large-Scale Retrospectives?
A large-scale retrospective (LSR) is a technique for scaling change across an organization by conducting a series of smaller retrospectives using a consistent framework and a central question to guide participant responses.
Typically, when people think of retrospectives, they think of team-level retrospectives in Scrum. While these are valuable for improving team outcomes and engagement, they tend to focus on issues within the team’s control. However, organizational transformations require a broader perspective—one that evaluates higher levels of control across the organization. This is where large-scale retrospectives come into play.
Why Organizations Need Large-Scale Retrospectives
Any transformation is rooted in change management, and many of you may be familiar with Dr. John Kotter’s eight-step change model. His steps are just as relevant today as when he first introduced them. The first three steps—creating urgency, forming a powerful coalition, and creating a vision for change—are typically led by leadership teams.
But beyond that, employees must be engaged in the process. People are more likely to support change when they feel they have a voice in the process. Every individual brings unique perspectives and experiences that can highlight obstacles and potential successes. Large-scale retrospectives give employees an active voice, ensuring a more inclusive transformation process.
In our experience, organizations that embrace LSRs gain deeper insights into their challenges, identify key areas for improvement, and ensure they are addressing real obstacles—not just perceived ones.
Conclusion
Large-scale retrospectives allow organizations to:
- Engage employees in change initiatives
- Identify key improvement areas
- Recognize strengths and areas that need preservation (the baby walruses)
- Uncover hidden risks (the icebergs)
- Develop an actionable roadmap for sustainable transformation
Thank you all for joining today. We hope you take these insights and explore large-scale retrospectives in your own organizations!