4 Ls Retrospective Template

The 4 Ls retrospective gives a team four balanced lenses to reflect through: Liked, Learned, Lacked, and Longed for. By pairing positive reflection (Liked, Learned) with honest gaps (Lacked, Longed for), this format keeps a retro from tipping into either cheerleading or complaint. That balance is why the 4 Ls retro template works so well for teams that want growth and morale in the same meeting.

When to use it

Use the 4 Ls at the end of a sprint, a release, or a project phase, especially when the team has been through a steep learning curve and you want to bank the lessons. It is also a great pick when morale needs a lift but real problems still need to surface.

Who attends

The whole delivery team plus a neutral facilitator, roughly four to ten people. Keep the group small enough that every voice is heard across all four lenses.

How to run it

Frame the four lenses up front so people know what each one means. Give quiet writing time per lens, then read and cluster the notes together. The "Learned" lens often holds the richest material, so leave room to draw it out. Move into voting to find the few items worth acting on, and convert those into owned actions with due dates before you close.

Facilitator tips

• Define "Lacked" versus "Longed for" clearly, since teams often confuse the two.
• Use silent writing first so no single voice frames the room.
• Mine the "Learned" lens for reusable lessons worth sharing beyond the team.
• Vote down to a few actions instead of trying to fix everything at once.

Common mistakes

• Treating "Liked" as filler instead of practices worth protecting.
• Letting "Lacked" and "Longed for" blur into one vague list.
• Gathering rich data but never converting it into owned actions.
• Rushing the discussion and skipping the insight step.

Want the lessons to outlast the meeting? Run it in OrgTP to capture every L, assign owners, and track actions into your next retro.