Enhancing Teamwork in the Classroom

Student Guide

Module 2: Team Processes

Student teams tend to “just let things happen.” This module encourages teams to be more proactive in managing their own processes by creating a structure and adopting tools and processes that increase effectiveness.

For this module your team will complete two (2) activities:

Activity #1: Mission, Roles and Rules

Read: Who We Are – Creating a Mission, Roles, and Ground Rules (attached to this document)

Follow the instructions at the end of Who We Are – Creating a Mission, Roles, and Ground Rules:

The team will create its own mission statement and post that statement to the team website
The team will decide on roles to be adopted by team members and post those roles to the team website
The team will develop its operational ground rules and post those ground rules to the team website

Activity #2: Meetings and Decisions

Read: Managing Meetings and Making Decisions (attached to this document)

Each team will develop a written meeting agenda and conduct a meeting based on that agenda; the team will submit that agenda to the instructor via course email.

Who We Are – Creating a Mission, Roles,
and Ground Rules

Creating a Team Mission Statement

A mission statement is a brief description of a company's fundamental purpose. A mission statement answers the question, "Why do we exist?" The same is true for a team’s mission statement.

A mission statement can guide your team through this semester, in good times and bad. A meaningful mission can act as a moral compass, and it can help you make decisions that align with your team’s values and goals.

A mission statement is a concise statement that describes your team: who you believe yourselves to be, at your very core. It should be a simple statement that can be easily understood by almost anyone, so refrain from using technical jargon. It does not have to be earth-shattering – it can be simple and to the point, but it should also inspire and energize.

Perhaps more than anything, a mission statement should reflect the team’s core values and purpose for existence. Move beyond the ubiquitous “to make an A in this class.” Of course you want to make a good grade, but that’s not who you are as a team and it doesn’t reflect how, as a team, you are different than any other team in any other class - the core essence of your team should reflect something of greater value than a grade at the end of the semester.

Sample Mission Statements:

The Elephant Sanctuary: "A Natural-Habitat Refuge Where Sick, Old and Needy Elephants Can Once Again Walk The Earth In Peace and Dignity." One powerful statement that evokes emotion and instant attachment to the cause of this organization.

Sun Microsystems: "Solve complex network computing problems for governments, enterprises, and service providers."A simple mission statement identifying who their market is and what they do.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream: A product mission stated as: "To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment." This mission inspired Ben and Jerry to build a cause-related company.

Joe Boxer: "JOE BOXER is dedicated to bringing new and creative ideas to the market place, both in our product offerings as well as our marketing events. We will continue to develop our unique brand positioning, to maintain and grow our solid brand recognition, and to adhere to high quality design standards. Because everyone wants to have fun everyday, JOE BOXER will continue to offer something for everyone with fun always in mind."

Each sample mission statement conveys the business founder's core beliefs and values.

[Note: Some of this information was adapted from: and

Adopting Team Roles

All effective teams have mechanisms for coordination and support the most important of these are specific "roles." Quite simply, a role is what members expect those in a particular position to do in relation to the team's operational processes.

Student teams often waste time because roles are ambiguous and it is unclear who will complete the duties of certain roles. This is particularly evident at meetings especially the early ones.

Here are some of the critical roles for meetings. You should specify who would perform them, at least for the first few meetings (you can always modify as needed and might need additional ones for a specific project):

Coordinator -

Setsand distributes agenda in advance (often based on input from team members), manages the work tasks or "business" of the meeting by keeping members on-track

Scribe -

Recordsand distributes results of meetings

Timekeeper -

Tracks the time set for agenda items helps team keep on schedule

Facilitator -

Helping people work together smoothly; the "how" of teamwork

Helps people communicate and cooperate; at a minimum checks to see that all points of view are expressed and everyone has a chance to participate.

Devil’s Advocate –

This person can legitimately challenge team decisions in search of missed alternatives or opportunities

Team Member (includes everyone) -

Contribute fair share, support others, work for the best of the team not just own opinion

Here are some other roles you may want to fill to operate effectively in your projects (modify or add your own as needed):

a. Project manager

b. Editor and production coordinator

c. Graphics and Presentation manager

d. Research manager

Developing Team Ground Rules

As the text suggests, group norms are those behaviors the team accepts and deems appropriate (although not all norms reflect positive behaviors; some teams engage in negative or dysfunctional behaviors that become the accepted norm, for example, it may become acceptable to be tardy for meetings). Often, these norms develop slowly over time. It can be very useful for a team to develop certain “norms” more quickly in order to become more efficient and effective. One way to promote the development of positive team norms is to state explicit rules the team agrees are necessary to function well.

These “rules “state how you intend to work together as a team. Although they are often viewed as superfluous and unnecessary, explicit ground rules help the team function more efficiently and effectively. All teams should be quite clear on how they want to hold meetings, make decisions, and interact with one another. Unfortunately, most teams simply let these processes evolve rather than manage them effectively.

A team can have a ground rule for almost any process. The only stipulation in forming ground rules is that all team members must agree the rule be included.

It may be useful to divide your ground rules into these three categories:

a. Administrative / Meeting Management

b. Task / Participation and Decision-Making

c. Interpersonal

Here are some examples of team ground rules (from past teams):

Team - 1

Administrative

Team 1 will conduct weekly conference calls—Thursdays at 6:30 pm and Sundays at 5:00 pm. Regular attendance is mandatory.
If member cannot attend meeting, then the member is responsible for posting his or her share of notes, ideas, and feedback prior to the meeting under the appropriate discussion thread.
Active participation on discussion boards is required of all team members.
Once assigned a role, each group member is responsible for fulfilling requirements of his or her role.
Members will follow schedule of tasks to best of their ability.

Task

All members (100%) must have input on course deliverables with overall grade weight of 10% or more of total course grade.
For course deliverables with overall grade weight less than 10% of total course grade, participation of 84% of team is required. In other words, 5 out of 6 members must have participated in a given task in order for it to be eligible to be turned in.
If a rapid decision must be reached about a given idea or task, a majority of 67% must agree before idea is incorporated into team deliverable.
Disagreements among team members will be discussed and settled in team meetings. If dispute is between 2 team members and becomes problematic to team as a whole, team facilitator will step in to mediate dispute and bring it to resolution.
Team facilitator will call absent members if team deliverable’s due date is imminent, and the required quorum is not available.

Interpersonal

Respect and courtesy are our codes of conduct.
Criticism is to be constructive and to target specific behaviors; we will not make personal criticisms
Humor is to be used as often as possible.

Team – 2

Administrative

1.Team Membersare required to attend all regularly scheduled meetings, currently planned for twice per week.

2.Team members are required to complete assignments as agreed upon during these team meetings.

3.Team members are encouraged to ask for help if they are having difficulties before assigned due dates.

4.Team Members are expected to actively participate in discussions.

5.Team Members are required to assess the team and meeting dynamics twice a week.

Decisions:

Decisions will be made by consensus or majority rule, each person is encouraged to provide input with justification to be considered
There are no winners or losers in any decision.
Every attempt will be made to discuss motivational factors, justification, and possible pitfalls of each decision

Interpersonal

Each Person is to be treated in a professional manner with respect.
Feedback is to be provided based on behavior and in a timely manner.
There are no bad ideas, every suggestion is to be considered.

Team – 3

Administrative:

All members must attend meetings and arrive on time. In the event that a member will be absent or tardy, they should contact the Coordinator to inform.
All members must check the discussion board at least once per day.
All members must meet deadlines set.
All members must fulfill their assigned roles.

Task Oriented:

All decisions will derive from group discussions. If group cannot come to an agreement for the decision, majority vote will be second resort.
All members will review the meeting agenda before attending the meeting so they will have a clear understanding of the topic(s) and will be prepared for discussions.
Each member must participate in all tasks, meetings, and projects. If the group feels that a member is not participating or committed, an initial warning will be given. If they continue with the misconduct, a group decision will be made regarding appropriate measures.
Surveys will be conducted and evaluated on a bi-monthly basis in efforts to measure progress.
All members must give their own opinions and view on all team tasks and discussions.
All documents and tasks will be posted on the discussion board and saved on a hard drive, once completed.
All members must give 110% efforts toward group and individual tasks.

Interpersonal:

All team members must show respectful behavior toward other teammates.
Negative feedback will not be targeted toward an individual, but rather toward a specific situation.
All members will cooperate with each other in order to establish and maintain a positive atmosphere.
Team - 3 will have a circle of trust among each other.
Each member should keep a focus on building relationships with each other throughout the semester.

Instructions

Step 1:

Create a team mission statement. Post that statement to your team website.

Step 2:

Decide which team roles might be useful for your team, and who should (at least initially) assume each role. Post these roles to your team website.

Step 3:

Decide which team ground rules might be useful for your team. Post these ground rules to your team website.

Remember, a team represents a living, dynamic process. Situations and circumstances may change, and the team may want to re-visit its mission, roles and ground rules. Feel free to modify any of these as the semester progresses.

Managing Meetings and Making Decisions

People always complain that meetings

are a waste of time.

So what's the problem with meetings?

The discussion getting off the subject

Lack of results, decisions, assignments

No stated goals, purpose or agenda

Meeting starts late; members tardy

Inadequate preparation by participants

Too many irrelevant topics covered

Interruptions to the meeting

Too much talking, not enough listening

Meetings last too long

Lack of participation

The Good News?

Your team can have very

productive and efficient meetings!

Here’s What to Do...

Before, During, and After a Meeting

Before the Scheduled Meeting Begins:

Plan

If at all possible, plan the meeting well in advance. Let all participants know when (date and time) and where. Send a reminder one day before the meeting – even for “weekly” meetings that have a set schedule (people can forget!)

Identify Meeting Goals

Ever hear the phrase, “Who called this meeting?” It typically indicates the purpose of the meeting is not well understood. Someone should clearly articulate the high-level goal(s) of the meeting and communicate these goals so everyone will arrive at the meeting knowing what it is all about.

Create an agenda

The team coordinator or project lead should develop an agenda before the meeting. Circulate this agenda to all team members at least two days before the meeting.

During the Meeting:

Begin Promptly

The scheduled start time has been announced via the agenda. Start the meeting on time.

Follow the Agenda

The agenda should list all topics for discussion and time allotted for each topic. Keep the meeting “on track” by following the agenda. Do not allow the meeting to be hijacked by side-conversations or off-topic discussions.

Participate!

Actively encourage (but don’t force) everyone’s participation. The assumption is people wouldn’t be at the meeting if they didn’t have something to offer.

Make Decisions

Have an agreed upon method of decision-making. For example, will the team vote (majority rule) or try to reach a consensus?

Summarize and Review

At the end of the meeting, summarize all decisions and action items. Make sure everyone knows their responsibilities. Remind everyone of the next scheduled meeting.

After the Meeting:

Follow-Up

Distribute the minutes of the meeting, or a written summary of topics discussed, decisions made, and action items.

Creating an Agenda

An agenda provides structure for a team meeting. It should include:

Date, time and location of the meeting

Names of all present / absent

Overall goals/objectives of this meeting

Specific topics to be discussed

Time allotted for each topic

Name of individual who will lead the discussion for each topic

Brief description of any decision made by the team

Action items assigned to participants

Time meeting adjourned

Team Decision-Making

Good team decisions don’t just happen. Team members must be:

Willing to express their ideas forcefully but with respect for others

Willing to listen to the various opinions and perspectives of others

Willing to search for common goals and find common ground

Willing to seek understanding and show support

When making decisions, most teams are
concerned about reaching agreement.
That is, do all team members agree with the
decision that is under discussion?

There may be a better approach...

Team Decision-Making Strategies

Agreement or Support?

When making decisions, we tend to think in terms of agreement:

Do I agree with this decision?

But it is often better to think in terms of
support rather than agreement:

Can I support this agreement?

Why? Because I can support a decision I don’t necessarily agree with. This is critical when it comes to reaching a team consensus.

Obviously, it would be great if each team member felt the decision being made was the one they would also make as an individual. But, often you will find yourself in a position of support rather than agreement. That is, the decision may not be exactly the same as you would make if it were left up to you, but it is close enough that you can support it as a team decision.

So, the key issue in reaching a team consensus is not whether everyone agrees with the decision, but:

Can all members SUPPORT the decision?

Team Decision-Making Strategies

Guidelines for Reaching Consensus

Consensus implies support, not total agreement. Can every team member support the decision that is about to be made?

If there is enough disagreement so that some team members feel they will not be able to support the decision, consensus has not been reached - keep talking until it is!

Make sure everyone is heard from and feels heard.

DO NOT VOTE - your aim is to talk through the issue until you have reached an agreement everyone can support.

Do not give in just to reach agreement – controversy and differences of opinion are good.

Be open-minded and flexible. Present your position, but listen to others' positions also.

Be an effective communicator - listen, probe, seek clarification and examples, encourage participation.

Team Decision-Making Strategies

Consensus Checklist

The team has reached consensus when each team member can agree to the following 4 statements:

1)I have shared my knowledge, thoughts and feelings about this decision with the team.

2)I have listened to others in the team and I understand (but may or may not agree with) what they say.

3)Although this decision may not reflect all of my personal preferences, I can represent it as my own.