Transcript Team Agreements - ::Gateway Engineering Education Coalition

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 with
what the first two decided on their
own.
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 minutes
late. One person never even
shows 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 wasn’t 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 don’t 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:
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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 person’s 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
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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
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Work efficiently during group meetings and minimize
tangent conversations
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Major decisions always involve three or four group
members present
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Keep group members informed as to all important issues
and concerns - no surprises
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Any divisive issues are to be discussed thoroughly before
any voting is done
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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
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Always turn in journals and remind other team members to
do so
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Divide work fairly and discuss any problems
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Arrive at class meetings on time and be prepared to work
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Be open to all new ideas
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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.
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