Let me describe the method in some detail before explaining my expansion.
Before starting and welcoming the participants ( I think there were about 7 of us), I drew this illustration on the whiteboard.
I explained:
"Try to recall co-workers from past teams - NOT your current team. Picture in your mind two of them. 'That guy' was terrible. The instant you get the message that you will be in the same team again as he she, you start having nightmares, you start screaming about jumping from the roof or you decide to solicit at a competitor. Instead, 'This Guy' rocks. The instant you hear you will be in the same team again, you start thinking about throwing a party, and phantasize about a promotion."
"I request you to write notes about the qualities of such a person. As for 'That Guy', plz don't mention any names. Not even a hint. And what I said about Guys, also applies to Gals."
When everyone had written their sticky notes, they put them on the blackboard. We discussed them and grouped them.
All sticky items had, on my request, been put above the dotted line.
The second phase I appended as the original method, in my humble opinion, lacked action items. I presented two options to the group, and later realized there was a third.
1. Choose one of the properties listed under "That Guy" or under "This Guy", on which you want to work during the next sprint. Note it in your agenda for reference during our next retrospective in 2 weeks.
2. Choose one of the properties listed under "That Guy" or under "This Guy", on which you want to work during the next sprint, and stick it on the board, thus sharing it with the rest of the team.
The first option is very safe. Some participants preferred the first, safe option. The team deliberated about which of the two options, and finally choose the second option.
Afterwards, I realized there was a third option:
3. Choose a teammate, and let him/her indicate what (s)he sees as a weak point which you might like to work on. Note that this remark is intended as a gift, not as a criticism.
If you want to present the third option, you should realize that this may be sensitive. Teammates might feel a remark as criticism. It takes a lot of courage to choose this item. It may easily be (mis)used by team mates to finally throw out irritation which has built up in the team over weeks or months. If you are not confident about your skills as an agile coach to handle such a situation, simply don’t present the third option. The intention of the third option is to give your teammate a gift: give them your insight on what aspect of his behaviour your teammate might grow most or best.
