The decision to form a team should stem from the purpose in which the team is designed. The goals, or purpose of the team needs to be realized by all participants and understood in order to move forward with a common sense of direction. With the purpose in mind, and as the initial formation stages of team take place, the individual members should have a say in the ground rules. This is the essence of a Team Charter.
Recently, we have formed a team in our Master's program to build upon team concepts, teamwork, and accomplishment of team goals. By this time in our program we have all participated in some form of "online team" and we all have a sound concept of what works and what doesn't. So, we made our Charter and expressed our individual strengths, expectations, past challenges, team goals and barriers, as well as some simple ground rules. This particular team is comprised of five motivated professionals sharing a common experience in self-education, and this blog is dedicated to the process of forming our group.
First off, we were given an outline for our charter. Each member was to include their respective contact information and fill out the fields with their thoughts and expectations. There are several ways to accomplish this with members scattered around the US, and we chose the "hot potato" method. The first team member out of the gates posted his portion of the charter to our file exchange, and then posted a discussion board comment on how others should follow. Each person was to download the file, add their information, and repost to the file exchange for the next person to complete. The final member to fill out the charter then posts it for the group to review and submit for grading. Simple and effective.
Not only is the content of our charter and submission process effective, but it allows us to catch a glimpse into the thought process (behaviors) of our members. Will anyone wait to the last minute? Does anyone object to this process? Or, will we all build upon a solid foundation of teamwork? It is a good test to establish the working behaviors of a new and dispersed team.
The main theme throughout our charter was communication. We have assignments that have deadlines, and we need participation from all members to accomplish these tasks. We also all have very busy and productive professional and personal lives that demand our attentions. So, if someone is going to be late or having trouble with their submission we all agreed we need to know about it sooner rather than later. We can only bridge gaps if we see them coming in enough time to fix them.
Our results were successful. We now understand each others' strengths and expectations of the group. So, what if someone doesn't hold up there end of the bargain? Simple... we complete the task, submit our work as professionals do, and confront the slacking member to find out why they dropped the ball. I believe that we all are in this program to succeed, and we all want to perform well (mainly an assumption on my part based on my own feelings and personal expectations). Life does have a tendency to happen, but we now all agree that communicating situations that will compromise the teams purpose is expected from all five.
Personally, I love these team projects. Online Teams, or virtual teams, have unique obstacles inherent... mainly time zone barriers. Learning to overcome these barriers is best done through understanding, communication, and respect of other members. In my personal and professional experience I will always be a part of a team in some way, shape, or form. My wife and I are a team for our family. At work we operate as a team, and understanding, communication, and respect are all necessary elements that ensure solid teamwork. In the immortal words of John Madden, "It's the team that gets into the end zone the most that is going to win". NO one gets ahead by themselves, and if they do they will probably be too tired to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
JP
Recently, we have formed a team in our Master's program to build upon team concepts, teamwork, and accomplishment of team goals. By this time in our program we have all participated in some form of "online team" and we all have a sound concept of what works and what doesn't. So, we made our Charter and expressed our individual strengths, expectations, past challenges, team goals and barriers, as well as some simple ground rules. This particular team is comprised of five motivated professionals sharing a common experience in self-education, and this blog is dedicated to the process of forming our group.
First off, we were given an outline for our charter. Each member was to include their respective contact information and fill out the fields with their thoughts and expectations. There are several ways to accomplish this with members scattered around the US, and we chose the "hot potato" method. The first team member out of the gates posted his portion of the charter to our file exchange, and then posted a discussion board comment on how others should follow. Each person was to download the file, add their information, and repost to the file exchange for the next person to complete. The final member to fill out the charter then posts it for the group to review and submit for grading. Simple and effective.
Not only is the content of our charter and submission process effective, but it allows us to catch a glimpse into the thought process (behaviors) of our members. Will anyone wait to the last minute? Does anyone object to this process? Or, will we all build upon a solid foundation of teamwork? It is a good test to establish the working behaviors of a new and dispersed team.
The main theme throughout our charter was communication. We have assignments that have deadlines, and we need participation from all members to accomplish these tasks. We also all have very busy and productive professional and personal lives that demand our attentions. So, if someone is going to be late or having trouble with their submission we all agreed we need to know about it sooner rather than later. We can only bridge gaps if we see them coming in enough time to fix them.
Our results were successful. We now understand each others' strengths and expectations of the group. So, what if someone doesn't hold up there end of the bargain? Simple... we complete the task, submit our work as professionals do, and confront the slacking member to find out why they dropped the ball. I believe that we all are in this program to succeed, and we all want to perform well (mainly an assumption on my part based on my own feelings and personal expectations). Life does have a tendency to happen, but we now all agree that communicating situations that will compromise the teams purpose is expected from all five.
Personally, I love these team projects. Online Teams, or virtual teams, have unique obstacles inherent... mainly time zone barriers. Learning to overcome these barriers is best done through understanding, communication, and respect of other members. In my personal and professional experience I will always be a part of a team in some way, shape, or form. My wife and I are a team for our family. At work we operate as a team, and understanding, communication, and respect are all necessary elements that ensure solid teamwork. In the immortal words of John Madden, "It's the team that gets into the end zone the most that is going to win". NO one gets ahead by themselves, and if they do they will probably be too tired to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
JP
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