Why Your Team Needs a Contract Now

A Simple Step to Stop Team Dysfunction

 

“We want to start working together instead of discussing how we should work together.”

The new team leader I worked with told me the above when we were planning how they could use their first team meeting time meaningfully.

When my daughter started working, the team she joined briefed her on all the technical and ‘business’ stuff but said nothing about how the team works together. They expected her to figure it out as they went!

Continue reading “Why Your Team Needs a Contract Now”

Two simple principles!

“We know it has to be done, but it’s hard to do so without it being perceived as personal!” said Jess.

Do you occasionally face a similar situation?

In Jess’ case, it was just a simple thing: removing a former member of the team from the team’s chat group. But it was hard because they had a good relationship with the former team member.

Continue reading “An Easy Way to Make a Hard Decision”

Some ideas to stimulate your thinking!

Are you trying to craft a set of norms for your team?

A well-crafted set of team norms is a great way to shape your team’s interactions and collaborations, allowing them to function more effectively and achieve greater impact.

If this is your first time crafting team norms, you might be wondering where to start. The process of crafting them is not complicated. To help you get started, I have listed some team norms for your consideration.

Continue reading “10 Sample Team Norms to Get You Started”

It needs the team’s buy-in!

As a team leader, I want my team to work together effectively. Having a set of team norms is one way to shape how team members interact and work together.

There are several advantages to having a set of intentionally crafted team norms. The best time to do this is when the team is new and malleable. While you will face some challenges in reshaping your team’s norms if it has been around for a while, the benefits are still worth the efforts.

Continue reading “How to Craft an Effective Team Norm”

Clarify expectations!

Team norms exist, whether you like it or not. Any team that works together develops a certain set of norms over time.

These organically developed norms, which are often unspoken, help team members know how to behave and interact with one another. While some norms help the team function more effectively, other norms might erode the team’s effectiveness.

Continue reading “5 Reasons for Having a Written Team Norm”