Does your team have a working agreement?

Posted: October 19, 2011 | Categories: Team Building

Let’s assume you and your team are optimistic about your future, and mutual respect and trust has been built.  (See white paper on building trust).  You are now ready for a working agreement.  In the book, High Impact Teams, author Rachel Lewis talks about the importance of a working agreement:

“Teams excel when their members abide by a clear set of working agreements.  Working agreements define how the crew will work together and support one another.  Working agreements foster team progress by providing a structure to support the work of a team and to ease the entry and integration of new team members”

 With the right craftsmanship built on a platform of trust and mutual respect, working agreements work.  Here is an example of a working agreement from one of my clients:

We will be the most trusted and successful leadership team in the industry.  We will provide timely and consistent direction to our teams and always explain the “WHY”.  We will WIN by taking accountability for our actions and working together to focus on our customer’s needs.  We will maintain flexibility to drive our business and provide solutions at the local level with disciplined follow up.  The PATIENT will be at the center of what we do every day and every call…..

This modus operandi has been amazingly successful for this team, and has served them well for nearly two years.  It was built by the entire team, and that created ownership.  Once the team built the agreement, they committed to abide by it.  Just like any sport, there is a field of play.  The working agreement helps define this.

 It is not uncommon for an individual on the team to violate the working agreement.  We all have our days.  When someone is out of bounds, what happens?  The same thing that happens in organized sports.  The whistle blows, the clock stops, you get back on the field of play, and keep moving forward.  So how do you and your team build a solid working agreement?  Here are two questions that can get you started:

1. How do we see our team working together to meet the team’s business objectives?
2. In practical business terms, what does success look like?

Build a working agreement.  Get everyone involved.  Commit to the agreement as a team.  Hold each other accountable, and advance confidently towards your objectives!