# Mad · Sad · Glad — Debrief

> You did not just air feelings. You turned the mood of a cycle into three themes the team can act on — each with an owner and a date.
> Use with `mad-sad-glad-guide.md`. The three owned actions at minute 17 are the compressed version; this sheet is the full one.

## How to run this debrief

- Keep the three clusters and the three actions **visible on the wall** while you talk — you are debriefing the map the team just drew, not re-litigating the sprint.
- Read the weight before the words: where the dots landed tells you whether this is an energy problem (Mad) or a morale problem (Sad).
- Close on owners and dates. An action without a name is a wish — don't leave until all three have one.

## Read the emotional shape

1. **Where the weight is.** A lot of Mad is energy you can redirect; a lot of Sad is morale you have to rebuild. The mix changes what the actions should target.
2. **How full Glad is.** A near-empty Glad column is a finding of its own — people are running on frustration alone. Say it out loud.
3. **What surprised the room.** Which note collected the most dots, and whether it took anyone by surprise. The team's vote is not your guess about the team.

## The four debrief questions

- For the top Mad item: is this a problem to solve, or a reality to accept and work around — and did the team name which?
- For the top Sad item: what value or need is underneath it — recognition, autonomy, steadiness — and does the action actually touch it?
- Is there a note only one person wrote that matters more than its dots suggest? Sometimes the important thing is held by one person.
- What's the first sign next cycle that a colour has actually shifted?

## Failure modes of the debrief

| Failure mode | Why it happens | The rescue |
|---|---|---|
| Mad turns into blame | People, not systems, get named | Reframe every item to a system or event: "the handover had no owner," not "X dropped the ball." |
| Glad is all safe notes | Politeness hides the real Sad and Mad | Ask "what would have made this genuinely better, not just fine?" |
| Actions with no owners | The retro ends on vibes | Stop at three actions — one per colour — each with a name and a date before anyone leaves. |
| An unfixable Mad item | Leadership controls it | Name that it's out of the team's hands so it doesn't rot as an unowned gripe. |