Working Agreements Norms/Working Agreements

Working Agreements/Norms Discuss at your tables: In the past, what experiences have you and/or your team had with working agreements/norms?

Norms “When all is said and done, the norms of a group help determine whether it functions as a high-performing team or becomes simply a loose collection of people working together.” -Goleman Turn and talk with a shoulder partner about this quote

Working Agreements Working agreements are the ground rules groups establish to guide their work and influence the behavior of members in order to support productive and efficient work Time Participation Listening Expectations Confidentiality Conflict Resolution Decision Making Technology These are some areas that teams usually create norms around Technology – use of computers/cell phones

Working Agreements Create as a team Discuss/renew with new members Post and review during meetings Purposefully revisit as a team Revise when needed Important to remember to…

A Test Does every member join in your group’s discussion? Does each member listen as the others speak? Does any single member dominate the discussion? Do all members arrive on time and stay for the entire meeting? Is everyone prepared to do their work when they arrive? Does each member of the group believe his or her time at the meeting has been well spent? You don’t have to answer these questions now, but consider:

Affinity Process: Individually Identify the behaviors that you think contribute to productive team work Write in terms of behavior, not belief “Everyone is equal” “Come to consensus when making decisions” Phrase the behavior in positive terms “Don’t dominate the conversation” “Encourage participation from each person” one idea per sticky note

Affinity Process: Together As a Team: Silently, sort and group similar ideas together *lone ideas can be placed to one side

Affinity Process: Together As a Team: Ask questions & clarify thinking if needed Write a topic for each group of sticky notes and label it with a new sticky note honoring time

Affinity Process: Together As a Team: Dialogue and turn each topic into a Working Agreement (stated as a positive behavior) Ask all members, “What parts of this can’t you commit to?” and “Is anything missing?” When your team reaches consensus, chart your Working Agreements Be prepared to share with the larger group

Share All teams will share their working agreements

Team Working Agreements How will you know that these Working Agreements are effective for your team? If they are not being adhered to, what are some factors that might be the cause? Discuss at your tables Share out thinking with the larger group Give them ideas for options to deal with challenges

Adhering to Working Agreements What are some ways your team will address team members who stray from the Working Agreements?

Thank You!