💡I brought Aristotle To The Retrospective!

Not literally, of course.
But his presence was felt in the room. 🔊

When someone said:
"I didn’t speak up last sprint because I didn’t feel safe," I was reminded of Aristotle’s timeless wisdom: 

👉 “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” 💡

That’s what retrospectives are all about:
Not blame. Not applause. But awareness. Repetition. Character. 🧠✨

As a philologist turned Scrum Master, I’ve learned this: The best teams don’t just ship features. They cultivate virtue.

→ Courage to speak truth, even when it's tough. 💬
→ Temperance in discussion, choosing reflection over reaction. 🤔
→ Justice in how credit is shared, creating a culture of we over me. 🤝

Aristotle would have called this ethos. In Agile, we call it culture. 🌟

But here’s the truth: culture isn’t born from frameworks.
It’s born from the choices we make every single day — what we tolerate and what we protect. 🔒

🧠So, What’s Aristotle’s Role in Agile?

You might be surprised. 😲
Sure, Aristotle didn’t write about stand-ups or sprint planning — but he understood people. Teams. Growth. Habits. 🌟
That’s why I find myself quoting him in retrospectives, not lectures. 🎤

🤝“We Are What We Repeatedly Do.”

Aristotle believed that character is shaped through repetition. 🔁
In Agile, we often confuse velocity with value. 🚀 But real growth happens in the moments where teams pause, reflect, and reset. 🔄
A retrospective isn’t just a ceremony — it’s a mirror. And the actions we take in front of that mirror? That’s what defines our culture. 🌍

🌟Ethos, Pathos, Logos — The Agile Triangle

As a philologist, I spent years teaching Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle:

• Ethos (credibility) 🏅
• Pathos (emotion) 💖
• Logos (logic) 🧠

As a Scrum Master, I see these in action every day:

• A team lead who builds trust through their actions (ethos)
• A teammate who opens up about burnout, vulnerability and all (pathos)
• A decision made based on data, not ego (logos)

Agile done right is more Aristotelian than mechanical. It’s about character, not just process. ⚙️

💡Retrospectives as Spaces of Virtue

Aristotle believed that virtue is something we practice together. 💪
In retrospectives, we train our ethical muscles. 🏋️‍♂️
Every time someone says: "I could’ve handled that better." Or "Next time, I’ll listen before reacting."
We’re growing — not just as professionals, but as people. 🌟

🤝Why Agile Needs More Philosophers

You don’t need to bring out the big quotes in every meeting.
But you do need to think like a humanist: 💭

• Can your team disagree with respect?
• Do people feel psychologically safe to speak the truth?
• Are you optimizing for growth, not just output? 📈

Agile isn’t just a framework — it’s a culture of being.
It’s time we treated it with the same depth we’d treat any other discipline that shapes who we are. 🌍