Team Agreements

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Team Agreements

• or
• How to get teams moving in the right direction

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Does this sound familiar?

• During class, Team Dysfunctional is formed to
  work on The Big Project.
• The team brainstorms numerous good ideas, but no
  one takes any notes.

• At the end of class, everyone goes their
  separate ways.
• Although the team needs to show progress before
  the next class, they make no plans to meet and
  have no idea how to contact each other.

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Somehow

• Two team members manage to meet, but they can
  only guess at what the rest of the team wants.
• Once everyone meets up in class,the rest of the
  team is unhappy withwhat the first two decided
  on theirown.
• Eventually, the team requests more time from the
  instructor to work on their ideas.
• They set a meeting time for later that week.

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At the meeting

• Two people are 20 minuteslate. One person never
  evenshows up.
• The meeting starts late, and before much gets
  done, one person leaves because of a prior
  commitment.
• The team members go their separate ways, and
  since the whole team wasnt there, make no plans
  to meet again.

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Eventually

• One of the team members assumes most of the
  workload in order to survive in the class.
• The project continues, and in time the team
  starts to work together. The workload is
  distributed and the team meets regularly.
• Unfortunately, the early missed meetings and work
  imbalance causes animosity among the team members
  that never completely goes away.

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In the end

• The final project looks like the thrown-together
  mess it was and gets a poor grade.
• The team vows to never work with each other ever
  again.

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How could this situation have been avoided???
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Team Agreements
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Team Agreements

• Teams that dont set ground rules from the start
  almost always fight an uphill battle to
  coordinate work.
• Creating a Team Agreement when a project begins
  is an effective way of getting a team started.
• Having each team member author and sign the
  agreement increases individual ownership of the
  Team Agreement.

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Team Agreements
Address such issues as

• Responsibilities and expectations
• Communication
• Participation
• Decision making and problem solving
• Managing disagreements
• Conduct during and between meetings
• Consequences

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Team Agreements
Address the issue of team member roles

• Facilitator makes sure all members have an
  opportunity to participate
• Mediator keeps the discussion directed
• Recorder makes written records
• These roles may rotate.

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Team Agreements

• What typical
• position may be
• missing?

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Team Agreements

• In the Team Agreement there may be NO one
  assigned team leader.
• Rather, leadership can be a naturally shifting
  position that changes with the needed knowledge
  base to complete the present problem. The team
  needs leadership, not a designated leader.
• This can alleviate many problems in the group
  dynamics as well.

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In Practice

• When forming groups in class, have students
  create and sign a Team Agreement that covers
• Communications e.g. meeting times
• Participation e.g. responsibilities of the
  individual members
• Decision Making and Problem Solving
• Responsibilities and Expectations e.g. team
  goals
• Methods for Managing Disagreements
• Conduct during Meetings e.g. who is
  facilitator, mediator, or recorder
• Conduct between meetings

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Sample Team Agreements

• Team A
• We pledge to follow the Golden Rule
• We will work together to complete group work and
  labs
• When meetings are established, we will do our
  best to attend and come prepared and on time
• When working together, we will help to establish
  a positive work environment
• If problems arise, they will be discussed with
  any or all of the group members
• Each group member must have input at every
  meeting
• No member will have a permanent job as jobs will
  be flexible and go with each persons strengths

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Sample Team Agreements

• Team B Part 1
• Group Organization
• Two group meetings to be scheduled before the end
  of class every Monday
• Check e-mail regularly and stay in contact with
  group members
• Minimize absences and inform group members prior
  to absence

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Sample Team Agreements

• Team B Part 2
• Meeting Format
• Focus on current task and work to accomplish it
  before moving on to other business
• Work efficiently during group meetings and
  minimize tangent conversations
• Major decisions always involve three or four
  group members present
• Keep group members informed as to all important
  issues and concerns - no surprises
• Any divisive issues are to be discussed
  thoroughly before any voting is done
• Document all group discussions and collective
  ideas

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Sample Team Agreements

• Team B Part 3
• General Guidelines
• Address personal or work problems as they arise
• Always turn in journals and remind other team
  members to do so
• Divide work fairly and discuss any problems
• Arrive at class meetings on time and be prepared
  to work
• Be open to all new ideas
• Keep good documentation of your work and
  distribute it to others
• This team agreement is open to modification and
  will be reviewed regularly

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Questions? Observations? Experiences to Share?
?
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References

• Project Management and Teamwork, Karl A. Smith,
  McGraw-Hill, Boston, 2000.
• Using Student Teams in the Classroom A Faculty
  Guide, Ruth Federman Stein and Sandra Hurd, Anker
  Publishing Co., Bolton, MA, 2000, p. 51-54
• Tools and Tactics for Design, Peter G. Dominick
  et al, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 2001.