I would like to tell you a story of one of my teams and Kudo Cards. During one of the Sprints, one of the developers was struggling with a particularly challenging task. He spent long hours working on the code and as a result felt frustrated and demotivated. The next Sprint was also very tense. The other team members were also very tired and demotivated. I thought what I could do for them, how to improve the situation and atmosphere.

Well, I remembered Kudo Cards. This is a tool used in Management 3.0 to promote positive behavior and recognize team members for their contributions.

“A good idea!”, – I thought. I was sure it would help my team. At the beginning of the next Sprint I suggested my team to use Kudo Cards. I explained the team what Kudo Cards are and how they work. I emphasized that this is a tool for recognizing and appreciating the efforts of others, and that they can be given to anyone on the team.

My team was distributed: all team members were living in different towns and countries, they couldn’t meet each other in the office. That is why we used digital Kudos on the Miro board. I encouraged team members to use them throughout the Sprint to recognize the good work of others. We agreed and the Sprint began.

On the second day of the Sprint one of the team members noticed the hard work of another team member and decided to give him a Kudo Card to show his appreciation. It was just the beginning. In a few days there was the birthday of another team member and one more Kudo card appeared on the board. At the end of the Sprint there were several Kudos. We saw all Kudos at our Retro, discussed them.

And you know what I’ve noticed? When the struggling developers received the Kudo cards, they felt more motivated and valued as team members. It reminded them that their hard work was noticed and appreciated by others. It motivates people.

This simple act of recognition helped to make the mood of the team more positive and encouraged the struggling developers to keep working hard. It also reinforced the positive team culture of recognition and appreciation that we were trying to build.

Using Kudo cards in this way helped to solve the problem of demotivated team members. It reminded everyone on the team that their hard work was noticed and appreciated, which helped to build trust and collaboration among team members. Overall, Kudo cards are a powerful tool for building a positive team culture and improving atmosphere.

Next Sprints were also not easy, but I saw that the team became more friendly, more motivated and they asked whether we could have it as a tradition.

In conclusion, I would like to say that using Kudo Cards by Management 3.0 can have a positive impact on Scrum teams. I saw how they work: It promotes positive behavior, improves communication, reinforces Agile values and increases engagement.

If you haven’t used these cards, you should try and you’ll see this great impact on your team. You can download free or buy Kudos at the offical website of Management 3.0.

If you had the experience of using them within your team, share it, please.

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