What is a debrief?
An Internal Debrief is where team members reflect upon a recent pursuit experience, discuss what went well, and identify improvement opportunities. Similarly, an External Debrief with the client is conducted to hear directly from them what worked and what didn’t.
Both Internal and External Debriefs help build a shared understanding — by clarifying roles, priorities, and goals, removing obstacles to collaboration, and reaching agreements about how to ensure future success. Win or lose, a successful debrief is a powerful tool that enables a team to self-correct, strengthen relationships, and enhance future performance.
Debrief Guidelines
Internal Debrief
When necessary, ask the team for a debrief, ideally within one or two weeks of submittal (proposal/interview)
- Use the Internal Debrief Document as a guide and feel free to determine additional questions you’d like to ask the team
- There’s no better time than immediately following completion of a project, when everything is still fresh in everybody’s mind
- Giving your team an opportunity to reflect on lessons learned is a way to uncover project management lessons to apply in the future
External Debrief
Win or lose, ask the client for a debrief, ideally within one month of the Notice of Award
- Use the Client Debrief Document as a guide and feel free to determine additional questions you’d like to ask the team
- Conduct the debrief with the mindset of a third party
- Don’t get defensive
- Listen to their feedback rather than making excuses
- Keep the conversation positive so that they’ll want to hire Garney for their next project