Team Norms

Create a simple list of team behaviours. These make unspoken behaviour norms visible. So you can together commit to them.

Short exercise
A short exercise takes 30 minutes or less. They typically address one specific element of a topic. You can use them in your meeting, at the start of your day with your team. We have written them to be fun, easy interventions.

When to use this exercise?

This exercise is created for situations when you would like to agree to certain behaviours shown collectively as a team. As a result of it, you will have simple and clear behaviours that you all agree to. This is important because only when you all commit can you live up to those standards and create an amazing team environment together. This is a great closure exercise for any team event. To sum up the team spirit, and create a tangible list of team behaviours that you all agree to.

How does it work?

With the below steps, you can create a great list of team norms fast and focused. And you prevent a slow-moving, low-energy discussion about each item.

Step 1: Prepare your own team norms.

Hand out post-its and ask everybody on the team, including you, to reflect on the possible agreements you would have the whole team agree to. Take around 2 minutes for yourself to think and note down a couple of agreements. Examples are "be on time for meetings" or "assume we all mean it well before reacting negatively".

Step 2: Make rounds – and pitch your idea one by one.

To create a list together, you will make rounds. So 1-by-1, you can give input. This shortens the creation of your final list significantly because you have a lot less discussion, it also allows for better listening and reflection, which results in a more balanced and complete list with different perspectives included in the result:

Each of you will be able to do one of 3 things when it's your turn:

1) Add a new team norm to the list.

2) Change (or combine, remove) one already on the list or ask a question about an item on the list. Here, a short discussion is ok.

3) Skip your turn.

This format specifically limits discussions to a minimum. This works based on the assumption that everybody has equally good team norm ideas. When you follow this simple process, you will have your collective list of team agreements in 1-3 rounds. When everybody skips their turn, you know you all agree to the list, and it's finalised!

Step 3: Close - celebrate a commitment to these norms and save the list.

Make the last round really explicit. State that if you all pass in this last round, that means you all commit to every item on the list, and you have your team norms. So you want to have from everybody a loud and committed "skip".

To end this exercise, you will then decide on where to store it so everybody can access it and how to put it into use.

What do you need to get started?

Post-its or any other form to have everybody note down their agreements and thoughts.

EXTRA TIPS

Most teams get to a list of ~10 norms. Sometimes a team is happy when it's short and sweet, sometimes it adds up to ~20 items, and a team is really happy because it feels complete and contains input from everybody on the team. That's all fine. Just make it work for your team!

This exercise is for:

• Team size: 2 to 13+

• Team development phase: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing

• Difficulty: Easy

• Duration: 5-30 min

• Location: Public

• Language: English

Related Tools in teambooster.app

You can find these related tools, and many more, in the Teambooster App. Go to teambooster.app, create a free account and explore if it’s something for your team as well.

Source: Exercise written by Teambooster.