Happy Thursday,
We don’t talk about this enough—but every high performing team swears by it. When you look at elite military and sports teams, they don’t just train hard—but they are also constantly learning and pursuing excellence; and there is one critical element they excel at—a strong Debrief culture. Let’s break it down; and at the end I’ll share a simple Debrief template you can use straight away.
Plus, our exclusive March Team development subscriber offer!
🧠 LEARN something.
Imagine this: your team has someone leave or join every three months. Your key leaders are replaced every year, priorities shift constantly, every day brings a new challenge, and you work in an environment where change, uncertainty, and ambiguity are the norm. Sounds stressful, right? Yet, this is exactly the environment that elite military units operate in—and thrive. Because for decades, they’ve embedded one of the most powerful tools for team performance: the Debrief. We used this exact tool countless times in my 18 year military career to drive high-performing teams. After every mission or major task—success or failure—we would break down what went well, what went wrong, and what to do differently next time. But in business, we often skip this step. Instead, we rush from one task to the next without pausing or reflecting. In doing so, we also deprive our people of real life learning opportunities.
But, a Debrief culture is more than just making time and asking questions—that part is easy. What truly sets elite teams apart is that they build a culture of Debrief—which requires two key ingredients: consistency and a no-blame environment. First of all, Debriefs only work if they are done regularly and on time, after every major task or event. Short and frequent five-minute stand-up ‘hot’ Debriefs beat a long-winded lessons learned meeting. Second, it absolutely needs a NO EGO, NO BLAME environment—just raw honesty and a relentless focus on improving. Otherwise, a Debrief just becomes a meaningless box-ticking exercise. The no-ego, no-blame tone starts with you, as the leader, leading by example. So, if you want to start building strong, resilient, high-performing teams and organisations, then start by making Debriefs a non-negotiable part of your leadership and team culture.
🤔 REFLECT on an idea.
If you’ve been through our leadership training or coaching, you’ll know this is a core principle: experience alone means nothing—and it certainly doesn’t result in wisdom—unless you take time to reflect and learn. Yet, in today’s fast-paced work environment, that’s exactly what we don’t do.
😊 SMILE a little.
Too “busy” to debrief?
Don’t stress about it.
You’ll get another chance, when you repeat the same mistake next week! 😂
✅ DO IT to get results.
Try a hot Debrief in your own team, and steal this quick-fire 5 questions format you can use in your next meeting. No. 5 is the most important, otherwise, it’s just a talk fest with no tangible actions.
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What was expected to happen?
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What actually happened?
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What went well and why?
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What can be improved and how?
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What will we do differently?
TIP: You don’t always have to lead every debrief—let a team member facilitate it.
🎁 Just for Subscribers.
Team building season is now, and we’ve got something for you! For March only, we’re offering exclusive access for our 1/2 day team-building workshop.
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CLICK HERE to check out the offer.
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Only 3 spots are available. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!
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Want in? Just reply with ‘Team Building’ to check if you are eligible.
🌱 How we can support you.
We provide strategic leadership solutions tailored to align with your business strategy, size, and budget. We can support your with:
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1:1 Leadership and Performance Coaching
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Team Coaching, for high performing teams)
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1:1 Health & Lifestyle Coaching for busy stressed leaders.
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Workshops, offsites and team development.
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Ask about our flagship Leadership Coaching Programs!
Kia pai tō wiki
Kenny Bhosale
CEO & Founder, The Bridge Leaders
