Hopes & Fears

When to use it

Use this tool to understand how your team is feeling about past or upcoming project or experience.

What’s the purpose

The ‘Hopes & Fears’ activity allows individuals to share their feelings in a safe space. It encourages team members to think about what they are hopeful for and what they are worried about. By sharing with one another, the team creates a space of mutual understanding and support.

How to do it

First, write down the name of the project or experience that you are focusing on.
Complete the template by adding thoughts individually and then sharing back with the team. If you are at the end of a project reflecting back on your experience, work in step two.
- What had you hoped for going into the experience?
- What fears did you have and what challenges were you worried about?
- Looking across your hopes, fears and the reality, what patterns do you notice? What can you learn from this and how might you do things differently the next time around?
If you are at the beginning of a project facing the future, work in step three.
- What are you hoping for going into the experience?
- What fears do you have and what challenges are you worried about?
- Looking at your hopes and fears, what patterns do you notice? How might you support and encourage one another through the highs and lows?

Helpful tips

You can complete this with an internal team, a customer or any other stakeholders.
Focus on how everyone feels in relation to a particular project/experience when doing the activity.
It can be helpful to complete a ‘Moodogram’ after doing the ‘Hopes & Fears’ activity to reflect on the emotional expectations or reflections of a project according to specific phases/steps.

Using this method in your day-to-day work

Hopes & Fears is a great activity to complete in any team environment to allow individuals to share how they feel about a particular experience. It’s an excellent way to bring a team closer together, get them feeling comfortable with one another, and find ways to support each other, particularly if a team is going through any change or growth. Consider using this in a team meeting the next time something new is being introduced, and see what you can learn from it.