Reflection

Rose Thorn Bud

Reflect on highs, lows, and hopes

No entries yet. Share your rose, thorn, and bud!

About Rose Thorn Bud

Each person shares a rose, something going well, a thorn, something difficult, and a bud, something they are looking forward to. The three-part structure is what makes it work.

Asking how things are going produces fine from most people. Asking for a specific highlight, difficulty, and hope produces actual information, because the structure makes it awkward to answer with nothing.

How to run it

  1. 1Explain the three prompts clearly before starting.
  2. 2Go round the group, each person sharing all three.
  3. 3Listen without immediately problem-solving the thorns.
  4. 4Note anything that needs following up after the session.

Facilitating it well

  • Go first and include a real thorn. If the facilitator shares only minor difficulties, everyone else will too.
  • Resist fixing thorns as they are raised. The round is for surfacing, and jumping to solutions stops people sharing.
  • Keep contributions short, around a minute each, or a large group will take the whole session.
  • Follow up on serious thorns afterwards, privately. Raising something and hearing nothing back teaches people not to raise things.
  • Use it regularly rather than only when something is wrong, so it does not become a signal that there is a problem.

Frequently asked questions

What do rose, thorn, and bud mean?

Rose is a highlight or something going well, thorn is a challenge or difficulty, and bud is something you are looking forward to or an emerging opportunity.

How is this different from a normal check-in?

The structure is what changes it. Asking how things are going invites fine as an answer, whereas asking for a specific highlight, difficulty, and hope makes a non-answer awkward.

What if someone raises something serious?

Acknowledge it in the round without trying to solve it there, then follow up privately afterwards. Problem-solving in the moment tends to stop other people sharing.